Inventories Fall But Crude Price Holds Steady
U.S 10-year treasury yields hovered near recent lows as the
government auctioned $13 billion of 10-year notes. Investors stated that
foreign investment interest during the auction was weaker than normal, signaling
rough waters ahead for bonds and the dollar.
The dollar fell against the yen and the euro today, in a
continuation move after the Fed paused rate hikes yesterday. The ECB and
BoJ are both slated to raise rates later in the year, putting pressure on the
dollar in the global markets. The dollar slid to 2-month lows against the
euro, but managed to hold on sentiment that the Fed is not totally done with
rate hikes, having left the door open for September. The consumer prices
report is due out next week, which will shed more light on the U.S. inflationary
position, which will in turn influence trader’s bets for a hike in September.
Crude oil futures traded with little change to close up $0.04
at $76.35. The energy department released inventories today, which showed
a decline of 1.1 million barrels. The crude market was shaken up when an
BP Alaskan oil pipeline was discovered to have corrosion and would need to be
shut down. BP has reduced output on the pipeline by about half, and there
is no real consensus on when the line will be pumping at full steam.
The metals traded higher across the board. Gold futures
climbed 0.73%, silver was up 2.54% and copper stood out at 3.4%.
Grains also traded higher today. Corn was up 1.7%, wheat
was up 1% and soy traded higher 0.8%.
Softs traded mostly higher. Cocoa was up 1.1%, coffee
rose 0.5% and orange juice climbed 1.1%.
Meats traded flat to lower. Cattle traded down
fractionally and potbellied pigs traded lower 1.5%.
Oil And Gasoline Inventories Fall (full
story).
Wholesale Inventories And Sales Increase In June (full
story).
John Patrick Lee