Crude Oil Jumps On Middle East Concerns
In today’s economic news,
Q4 GDP growth came in well below expectations
(report).
The Commerce Department report showed the US economy grew at the slowest pace in
3-years during Q4.
New Home Sales rose more than expected in December
(report).
You can also find comments by George Soros and reports from CNBC that the White
House has nominated Fed governors in our
Economic
News section.
Treasuries closed flat after a volatile start to the
session. For the week, treasuries were sharply lower — hurt by the governments
$32 Bln auction and expectations the economy will rebound from a sluggish Q4.
The Dollar rallied against the Euro and Yen, boosted
by today’s economic data. TradingMarkets just launched a new free service —
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March Crude Oil (CLH6) jumped more than a dollar
higher to close at $67.76. Today’s bounce left Crude Oil futures only slightly
below where they started the week. Crude Oil was helped by comments made by
Saudi oil minister Ali Al-Naimi that geopolitical tensions will support high prices.
Natural gas closed flat, recovering from yesterday’s
new contract low. From a technical perspective, this week’s action has setup a
positive divergence with prices hitting new lows but momentum indicators failing
to confirm price action. This increases the possibility of a rally from these
levels.
Copper hit another new high, boosted by today’s
surprising New Home Sales data. Gold closed flat, to record a small gain for the
week. Prices remain near multi-year highs on both a closing an intraday basis.
In the softs, Coffee closed higher, ending the week
at its highest level since June 2005. Sugar hit a new closing and intraday
contract high. Cocoa experienced a volatile week, heavy selling led to a large
drop in prices as the situation in Ivory Coast calmed. Orange Juice ended the
week higher after hitting a 2-month low last week.
All the major grains posted solid gains for the
week. Soybeans (Futures Pivots)
gapped higher at the open and recorded a strong day/week. Wheat (Futures Pivots)
also rallied sharply this week, with prices hitting a 3-month high during
today’s trading. Corn (Futures Pivots)
tested the high set earlier this month. From a technical perspective, a close
above 221 would mark a breakout after a solid positive divergence following a
multi-month decline, which could lead to a sizeable rally.
GDP +1.1% in Q4 (report).
New Home Sales +2.9% in Dec. to rate of 1.269 Mln units (report).
Ashton Dorkins