Oil Slumps Ahead Of Vote
Crude oil and its products are down ahead of a United Nations vote to extend Iraq’s oil-for-food deal scheduled for later today.
Bonds shot up and are trading on their highs of the day on this morning’s unexpectedly bullish Producer Prices data. Wholesale inflation came in as expected at 0.2% while the core rate (excluding volatile food and energy) came in unchanged.
Natural gas is rebounding from recent lows and is up 6%.
Here are the highlights around noon Eastern time:
Stock Index and Bond Futures•March T-bonds [USH0>USH0]: +22/32 to 94 20/32
•March S&Ps [SPH0>SPH0]: +1.80 to 1431.00
•March Dow futures [DJH0>DJH0]: +13.0 to 11,300.0
•March NASDAQ 100 futures [NDH0>NDH0]: -10.50 to 3201.00
Currencies
•March dollar index futures [DXH0>DXH0]: +.44 to 101.04
•March British pounds [BPH0>BPH0]: -.0046 to 1.6212
Energies•January crude [CLF0>CLF0]: -.43 to 25.72
•January unleaded gas [HUF0>HUF0]: -.0122 to .7030
•January heating oil [HOF0>HOF0]: -.0085 to .6415
Metals•February gold [GCG0>GCG0]: +1.2 to 281.5
Grains•January soybeans [SF0>SF0]: +1/2 to 460
Softs and Fibers•March cocoa [CCH0>CCH0]: -11 to 874
•January orange juice [OJXF0>OJF0]: -1.20 to 95.50