Heating Fuels, Juice, and Pigs Explode
The threat of a frigid cold front sent shorts scrambling for cover and
brought in new buyers in explosive moves in heating fuels, orange juice and
pork futures.
Forecasts for temperatures more than 25 degrees below normal through next
Monday across the Midwest and Northeast during a period of 24-year lows in heating fuel
storage levels, pumped up natural gas
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After closing at a new contract high Friday, a
development pointed out in the Futures
Market Recap, NGF1 exploded, rallying .75 in a limit move to a contract
record. NY Mercantile Exchange rules halt trading for one hour during a limit
move in nat gas. After trading resumed, traders bid the contract to a new high
of 7.950 on views that inventories will be insufficient to meet soaring demand.
Profit taking and overbought conditions brought the contract back to the limit
up level, leaving the nat gas .76 higher on the session at 74.33.
Heating oil also posted one of its biggest one-day gains of the year before
selling off and settling .0376 higher at 1.0084. January crude oil
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went the other way, falling for a third straight session, as Iraq resumed
pumping oil after threatening to halt oil shipments in protest of UN sanctions
late last week.Â
Earnings, the economy and the election took center stage Monday in stock
index futures trading. Traders rotated into basic industry stocks with low price-earnings
ratios, boosting
Dow futures
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Orange
juice
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and
New 10-Day Highs lists, gapped up on speculation that the arctic blast in the
Northeast could extend down to the Carolinas and hit orange groves in Florida.
Orange tree-damaging frosts in Florida have occurred most often in December and
January. Juice closed 7.10 higher at 86.30.
The cold front expected this weekend is also expected to slow slaughters and
sent pork contracts sharply higher. February bellies
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good on their Turtle Soup Plus One Buy
setup, closing up 2.850 at 63.950. March pork bellies
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limit up level, but on very light volume, and February hogs
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1.275 higher at 58.300.