Energy Boost, Pigs Fly
Marc Dupee will be out of the office until April
9. In his absence this column is being written by TradersWire’s Duke Heberlein.
The American Petroleum Institute’s expected release of lower inventories
lifted April crude oil
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higher ground, which then pulled the rest of the energy futures into the green.
CLK1 ended the session up .27 at 27.75. Natural gas
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pulled up by expectations of cold weather in the eastern portion of the United
States, rising .295 to 5.67. Unleaded gasoline
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second straight day, adding .0066 to close at .9306, as was heating oil
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Local traders short-covering sent pigs
higher, with lean hogs
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bellies
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managed to post gains in the face of yet another hoof-and-mouth disease alert,
this one coming out of Denmark. April live cattle
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78.325 up 1.00 and feeder cattle
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86.050. Reports from the Agriculture Ministry in Denmark stated that three cows
are under investigation for the disease and that by 12:00 AM local time, all exports
will be banned pending the results of the inquiry.
Stock index futures rose for the third straight day, putting the Dow
futures
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pullback from lows. The DJM1 gained 195 to end at 9980 and the Spoos were up
22.90 at 1190. Nasdaq 100 futures
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at 1757, tracing out a bearish flag pattern just above its lows.
Bonds continued their slide, as T-bonds
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for a possible flight to debt futures on Fed chairman Alan Greenspan’s comments
today.
In the softs, coffee
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news that Mexico, Colombia and several Central American countries will limit
exports by around 5%, thereby shortening supply. KCK1 was down 0.80 at 61.05. Cocoa
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three days, falling 25 to 1038, while May cotton
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a short sell out of a pullback from lows, losing 1.44 to 47.59. Orange
juice
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per contract to 76.95 and May sugar
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.04 at 8.50.
Metals were mixed again today, with gold
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loser, down 1 at 261.10. Silver
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and high-grade copper
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higher at 78.70.
May wheat
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their products were positive across the board. Beans ended at 445 1/4, up 3 1/4,
soybean oil
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Â
In closing, the June dollar index futures
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light trading, up .22 to 115.56 and rising against most of the currencies.
The Japanese yen
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index and gained .004 to .8276. Swiss francs
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.5841, the British pound
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futures
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