Oil Erases Early Gains To Close Slightly Lower
U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds continued to ease off of their
recent 7-month lows, falling for the third straight day. The move came
after a government report showed that U.S. economic growth came in under
analysts’ expectations. Yields have been falling rapidly since June, after
the Fed announced that they would not raise rates, ending a 17-meeting streak of
hikes. The pause last week also led to a major rise in price in the
long-term note, and today’s move could be seen as a minor corrective
stabilization.
The dollar rallied to its highest point in over a week against
the yen today, as the Dow Industrials Average flirts with record highs, and
investors across the globe look favorably at U.S. equity action. The
dollar lost moderately against the euro, with the ECB publicly stating its case
against inflation, calling for more rate hikes before the year is over.
Both the dollar and the yen hold slim chances of seeing a rate hike this year,
which is hampering their value against the euro.
Crude oil futures fell fractionally today to close at $62.76,
erasing gains made early in the day. Crude rebounded strongly yesterday,
even on top of bearish inventory news. Yesterday’s bounce signaled solid
support for the futures contract, which was also confirmed in the closing price
today, well above $60. Natural gas fell 4.9% today as mild weather
forecasts across the U.S. eased demand fears for the energy.
Gold future rose fractionally today, nearly erasing earlier
gains. Gold gapped up today as oil continued its move up, but reversed in
time with the crude futures contract to bring the daily gains almost to zero.
Copper fell nearly 2% on continued demand fears stemming from a slowing U.S.
economy.
The softs traded mixed, but mostly higher. Cocoa fell
over 2%, coffee rose 0.5%, orange juice rose 0.7% and sugar rose nearly 4%.
Grains traded higher across the board today. Corn was up
4%, wheat was up5%, soy was up nearly 2% and oats were up 1.2%.
Jobless Claims Fall In The Week Ended September 23 (full
story).
John Patrick Lee