Cheating Concerns Cut Down Crude
Oil and gasoline contracts crumbled more than 3%, dropping to 20-day lows on estimates that OPEC oil output rose nearly 1% last month. The rise implies cartel members are exceeding agreed-to production quotas.
November crude [CLX9>CLX9] sank .82 to 22.45, unleaded gas [HUX9>HUX9] fell .0253 to .6267 and heating oil [HOX9>HOX9] (from the Implosion-5 List) slid .0197 to .5746.
December T-bonds [USZ9>USZ9] gapped down to a new contract low of 112 4/32 on the open, but traded up 25 ticks before finishing unchanged at 112 19/32
Diverging signals in stock index futures nonetheless closely followed today’s indicators. December Dow futures [DJZ9>DJZ9] and S&P futures [SPZ9>SPZ9], from the Pullback Off Lows List, traded below resistance established at their gap-opening high levels, and ended down 52 and 5.70, respectively. Although the NASDAQ 100 futures [NDZ9>NDZ9] closed 6.50 lower at 2549.00, they gained as many as many as 27 points intra-day, traded within 2 of a contract high and made good on their Momentum-5 List reading.
Currency futures finished little changed. December dollar index futures [DXZ9>DXZ9] slipped .12 to 98.08. The Japanese yen [JYZ9>JYZ9] hit a 19-day low but finished three ticks higher at .9398. Swiss francs [SFZ9>SFZ9] and the Euro FX [ECZ9>ECZ9] consolidated near highs.
In metals trading, December silver [SIZ9>SIZ9] took the spotlight from gold, rising 6.5 to 559.5. December gold [GCZ9>GCZ9] fell 1.7 to 324.3 and copper [HGZ9>HGZ9] touched the bottom of a one-month range, finishing unchanged at 80.50.
December wheat [WZ9>WZ9], from the Implosion-5 List, fell 5 1/2 to a 20-day low. December corn [CZ9>CZ9] slipped 1 1/2 and November soybeans [SX9>SX9] closed unchanged.
February pork bellies [PBG0>PBG0] traded up their daily limit, rising 3.000 to 64.225. December lean hogs [LHZ9>LHZ9] also rallied, adding 1.050 to 45.750. From the Momentum-5 List, November feeder cattle [FCX9>FCX9] gained .650 and live cattle [LCZ9>LCZ9] closed at a new high of 70.000.
December cocoa [CCZ9>CCZ9] hit a 20-day low, finishing the day 24 lower at 924. Finally, November orange juice [OJX9>OJX9] rallied 2.70 to 90.50.