No Doubt
Just one day before OPEC
meets in Vienna to determine cartel output levels, energies gushed back to the
upside, in a move that reveals traders’ doubts about the resolve of OPEC to raise
production. Energies had pulled back from contract highs in recent days after
the US government released oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and after
OPEC oil ministers made statements suggesting they would raise output, but
rebounded strongly as oil ministers’ thoughts on production rises became better
known.Â
Oil ministers already in
Vienna Tuesday, uttered comments that made traders wary about both current and
future promises to pump more oil. For instance, the Algerian Oil Minister Chekib
Khalil said, “putting more crude in the market could create a bad situation
for prices.” Another oil official from Qatar, Abdullah bin Hamad al-
Attiyah, said “there is no shortage of oil . . . we believe that and we
know because we’ve talked to our customers. Some in the U.S. are complaining
because gasoline prices are high. But we can’t concentrate on just one market.”
Such statements left the impression that production hikes from OPEC may be less
than the 500,000 barrels a day anticipated by the trade.Â
August crude
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heating oil
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setups, closing up as much as 3% each.Â
Stock index futures closed mixed, with the old economy/new
economy dichotomy once again asserting itself. September S&P futures
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made good on a Turtle Soup Plus One
Sell setup, closing 5.50 lower at 1499.00.
Dow futures
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the
NASDAQ 100 futures
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Some of the heaviest rains of the year fell across major
portions of the grain belt, sending corn back to probe multi-year lows. Monday’s
Commitment of Traders Report with Options showed speculators remained net long
corn futures, while fund traders were net short over 18,000 contracts. Corn is
on both the Implosion-5 List
and Pullback From Lows
lists and closed 3 1/4 lower at 202 1/4. Soybeans
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contract on the Implosion-5 List, August soybean meal
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falling 4 to 501 and 2.5 to 162.1, respectively. July wheat
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other way, adding 5 to 273 3/4
In the meats, although lean hogs
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are setting up to tackle triple tops. August pork bellies
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bigger tumble, falling down from the top of a developing down-channel for a
loss of 1.125 to 84.150.
Going the other way, cotton
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Turtle Soup Plus One Buy
setup off a one-month low to end .53 higher at 56.64.Â
Orange
juice
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that has confined the contract since Christmas. Juice is the leading contract on
the Momentum-5
List and closed .40 higher to 87.60. Also from the Momentum-5 List, sugar
followed through on Monday’s turnaround-rally to end six ticks higher at 8.64.
Sugar’s powerful comeback from last week’s pullback placed
the October contract back on the Momentum-5
List. Sugar is making headway again to the upside, remaining near its recent
contract high.