Wheat futures decreased to one-week low following the forecast of high crop in Australia weighting up worries over fierce competition for US exports. On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, wheat futures for delivery in March were traded at USD5.9538 a bushel at the early European trade, losing 0.85% since opening.
Stock futures in the US drift ahead of the ECB's decision and euro-zone summit. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 17 points to 12,197, while those on Standard Poor's 500 index declined by 3.2 points to 1,260.80. At the same time Nasdaq 100 futures decreased by 2.25 points to 2,319.25.
The project of building the first hydro-power dam on the lower Mekong has been delayed again due to environmental concerns. The project will allow Laos to generate additional power that was planned to be sold to Thailand. However, opponents claim the dam will impact fragile ecology and people living downstream of the river.
Copper trading volumes declined by 42% in five days as market sentiment was affected by further European summit. Trade volume of copper futures for March delivery decreased from 37,563 to 65,750. Open interest remained steady at about 70,000 with only 500 position decrease since November.
OAO Severstal, Russian steel producer, announced the decrease in net profit in Q3 by 29% to $429 million. The decline was mainly caused by forex losses Severstal experienced because of weakening ruble. Experts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected the net income to be $480.3 million.
Asian shares closed lower as market sentiment was impacted by the ECB decision and the euro-zone summit. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average both lost 0.7%. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.4%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index tumbled by 0.3% while the Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.1%.
Platinum group metals might be backed up by the probable supply disruptions based on the new indigenization law in Zimbabwe, the world largest producer of platinum group metals. The new regulation stipulates that overseas companies having over $500,000 of net assets will be obligated to cede not less than 51% of their operations to citizens of Zimbabwe. The indigenization minister warned it can cancel licenses
Growing number of natural gas supplies and more deposits discovered may make the natural the second-largest energy source in US, said Exxon Mobil. With the surging world population which is expected to reach 9 billion in 2040, the demand for energy will increase by 30% and the natural gas consumption will undertake the coal becoming the second-largest energy source, according to Reuters.
Australian employment change declined last month, according to official data. The employment change decreased by 6.3K from 16.8K on a seasonally adjusted basis in November, the change in September was 10.1K, reported Australian Bureau of Statistics. Analysts projected the change to increase to 10.6K in November.
The debt crisis and political turmoil add the safe-haven appeal for the yellow metal, according to Profit Confidential. Currently markets are trading on the investors' worries, so different eventualities to all asset classes are possible, said Mitchell Clark, long-time analyst at Profit Continental. In case of the force asset liquidation the gold positions may increase, he added.
Canadian housing starts decreased more than expected in November, according to official data. The housing starts in the country decreased to 181,000 units last month, compared to expected drop to 200,000 units, reported the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. After data release, the Canadian dollar rose against the USD by 0.18%. The pair USD/CAD is currently trading at 1.0079.
WTI Crude Oil prices are likely to approach $112.5/bbl in 2012 and $126/bbl in 2013 while Brent crude oil my swing around $130/bbl in 2013, reported Goldman Sachs. Taking the rising capacity of Seaway pipeline, the Brent-WTI spread is expected to narrow, the company added. Oil outlook is turning to bullish on the growing tensions between Middle-East and Western economies.
The second shipment of gold repatriated from European and North American banks to Venezuela arrived in Caracas, said Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan President. The first yellow metal's shipment arrived November 25 without announcing any further information on amount. August's estimates showed the country has 211 tons of overseas commodity reserves. The president is concerned about the situation in the developed economies and wants to bring back all Venezuelan gold being worth 11
Italian austerity measures announced by Mario Monti, PM, eased pressure on Italy's credit rating, according to Fitch Ratings. The outlook of Italy's A-plus rating stays negative indicating the necessity to implement structural reforms but the country is seeking to execute fiscal consolidation to rectify economic difficulties, the agency added.
Vladimir Putin, Russian PM, claimed the US was behind protests against results of the recent parliamentary elections. The PM accused Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, of inspiring opposition activists to protest. Foreign monitors also acted in line with certain political interests and expressed worries over election process, he said. The country has to defend its sovereignty from abroad interference, he added. United Russia,
Britain's stocks rallied as investors anticipated the Bank of England's announcement of the monetary policy and euro-zone summit. Analysts expect the bank to keep the interest rates unchanged at 0.5% and hold the budget of its bond-buying project at ВЈ275 billion. The FTSE 100 added 0.3% to 5,564 in the early trade. Software and pharmaceutical firms lead the gains with Sage Group PLC increased by
Anticipating the second decrease in the interest rate by the ECB, the stock indexes started to climb. The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.49% to 242.59, Germany's DAX 30 index increased by 0.77% to 6,041.82 while France's CAC-40 index advanced 0.65% at 3,196.82 and the FTSE 100 index gained 0.44% to 5,570.44.
The ECB is likely to look for new ways to boost bank lending and halt the slowdown of the European economy today, while EU policy makers will attempt to create a fiscal union on the summit starting tomorrow. According to a Bloomberg survey, majority of investors expect the benchmark rate to be lowered by 0.25% to 1% at the regular
According to a poll by Bloomberg, majority of global investors forecast a banking crisis in China by the end of 2016 due to diminishing demand of Chinese shares and decreasing confidence in country's government. A crash of Chinese financial industry is expected until late 2016, 61% of those surveyed claim. Decreasing home sales, record-weak manufacturing data and diminishing export growth are
Gold futures recovered after two-day losses as yellow metal returned its safe-haven appeal on the more pessimistic economic outlook on the euro-zone. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures to be delivered in February were traded at USD1,739.55 a troy ounce at the U.S. morning trade, gaining 0.45% since opening.
The government of Ecuador approved Kinross, Canadian gold production company, plan to start gold mining on the Frute del Norte deposit and the contract will be signed in the end of December or in the beginning of January, according to Wilson Pastor, Minister of non-renewable resources in Ecuador. The royalties from commodity contracts will fall in range between 5% and 8% depending on the gold
Crude oil futures for delivery in January fall below $100 a barrel as market sentiment was impacted by bleaker economic outlook on the euro-zone coupled with supply report that indicated a large increase in the oil inventory level. The inventories increased by 1.3 million barrels this week, according to EIA report. Crude oil futures lost 0.9% to$99.67 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Foreigners own over 55% of privately held Treasury bonds in the US, according to Treasury Department. The rise can be explained by decreasing growth pace in debt available to investors to purchase while Treasurys increase their debt issuance each three months. Total privately-owned debt rose from $8.12 trillion in previous quarter to $8.46 trillion this quarter.
Natural gas futures tumbled, returning to the two-week low on the mild weather forecasts in the US East Coast that reduces the commodity demand. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in January were traded at USD3.433 per million British thermal units at the early U.S. trade, losing 1.58% since opening.