Lots Of Action Today
Jobless claims, released today, were the highest in eight months, but retail
sales showed the largest gain in three months. The Dow fell 51 points while the
Nasdaq gained three and the S&P 500 fell three.
Gold was the shining star for the day, as the February contract rallied 6.60
to 332.10, a multi-month high. Feelings that new Treasury Secretary Snow may
favor a weaker dollar sent the Euro and Yen up. The March Dollar closed at
life-of-contract lows of 10.492.
OPEC is increasing official production quotas to 23 million barrels, in an
effort discourage ‘cheating’ by members. Actual production may decline by
700,000 bbl./day, though. January Crude closed up .61 to 28.01. In
Venezuela, oil is flowing again, as the navy took control of tankers.
Natural gas made a 20-month high; the January contract closed at 5.09. The
rise comes on the heels of a triple-digit decline in supplies.
March Cotton fell 1.09 to 49.20, while March Coffee dropped 1.20 to
60.55.