Crude Oil Jumps Back Above $60
Volume dropped off from yesterday’s
level as traders continued to flatten off positions ahead of the holiday weekend.
In today’s economic news, the MBA reported a second consecutive week of falling
mortgage loan applications volume
(report);
meanwhile the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index rose to the highest
level since hurricane Katrina (report).
The Consumer Confidence report sent Treasuries
lower, with the 10-yr T-Note breaking a 3-day winning streak and the US Dollar
Index higher. The Dollar rose versus the Yen and rebounded versus the Euro.
Crude Oil jumped sharply higher, closing just below $60 after
trading above that level earlier in the session. The weekly Petroleum Status
report is scheduled to be released tomorrow but prices were boosted today by
comments from Iran’s oil minister that OPEC should cut production.
Chart courtesy of FutureSource.com
Gold continued to recover from the selloff
earlier this month.
Chart courtesy of FutureSource.com
Coffee closed at its highest level in over a month.
Chart courtesy of FutureSource.com
Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Market Index Falls 6.8%; Purchase Index
Drops 4.5%, Refi Index Slides 11.2% (report).
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence
Index rose to 103.6 in December from a downwardly revised 98.3 in November (report).
Ashton Dorkins
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