Strong Retail Numbers Take Bite Out Of Bonds
March T-bonds [USZH0>USH0] plunged following the release of stronger-than-expected retail sales data. The bonds ignored this morning’s surprisingly weak Consumer Price Index (CPI) data and tumbled 1 9/32 to 93 1/32.
In volatile trading, stock index futures fell. March Dow futures [DJH0>DJH0] closed down 36.0 at 11,310.0, S&P futures [SPH0>SPH0] slipped 11.20 to 1425.30 and NASDAQ 100 futures [NDH0>NDH0] tumbled 63.0 to 3224.00.
The mix of low inflation and a strong economy boosted March dollar index futures [DXH0>DXH0], sending the March contract up .69 to 101.93. From the Pullback Off Lows List,
Swiss francs [SFH0>SFH0], slipped .0050 to .6351 and British pounds [BPH0>BPH0] fell .0126 to 1.6128.
Crude oil [CLF0>CLF0] and its products rose on the view that today’s American Petroleum Report will show tighter inventories. Crude rose .35 to 25.73, unleaded gas [HUF0>HUF0] rose .0028 to .6976, heating oil [HOF0>HOF0] rose .0134 to .6596 and natural gas [NGF0>NGF0] added ..0760 to 2.585.
Gold was quiet in trading on Tuesday but March silver [SIH0>SIH0] rallied 6.7 to 523.0 and copper [HGH0>HGH0] gained .70 to close at a one-week high of 80.85.
In the grains, January soybeans [SF0>SF0] recovered 2 points, rebounding off Monday’s four-month low to close at 453.
In the meats, pork contracts came back from a three-day slump. February pork bellies [PBG0>PBG0] rose 1.450 to 76.650 and lean hogs [LHG0>LHG0] gained 1.075 to close at 56.075.
March sugar [SBH0>SBH0] lapped open but quickly sold off, closing the lap-up and erasing all of Monday’s gain to end down .14 at 5.88. Coffee [KCH0>KCH0] fell 1.85 to 122.50.
Finally, orange juice [OJF0>OJF0] futures slipped 1.40 to 91.90.