Close: London Session | Forex, Metals, Oil, Agriculture February 12, 2021

Separately, the U.S. trimmed its estimate for domestic corn inventories less than forecast following a record Chinese buying binge. Corn boom sends farmland value up the most since 2012 in Midwest.

In global markets, gold rates eased today, weighed down by a stronger US dollar and higher Treasury yields. The dollar and benchmark ten-year US Treasury yields ticked higher, reducing gold’s appeal. Gold, on the other hand, was unable to overcome horizontal resistance and was rejected yesterday in a fresh sign of dollar strength. less Profit-taking weighs on equity markets, and the dollar is trading higher ahead of the weekend. The small pick-up in the US dollar is weighing on the precious metal although the move in the greenback has been small at best.
The dollar rebounded pushing gold prices down. The U.S. dollar rebounded pushing gold prices down. It rose close to two hundred pips against the dollar, as other G10 currencies did too. The dollar is snapping back after key levels held ($1.2150 in the euro and JPY104.40). Will that strength spill over to other dollar pairs?

Gold has remained flat just above $1800, and BTC is the “new gold. This infographic from Corvus Gold looks at the requirements and stages a mining company could face along its journey from a mineral prospect to a global mining company. The bad news about this weakness in the gold price is that we’ll likely see less margin expansion for the miners next year. Recent changes in sentiment warn that the current Gold price trend may soon reverse higher despite the fact traders remain net-long.
After a run-up in the price of gold last year, some investors have turned to platinum as a cheaper alternative. We typically take a contrarian view to crowd sentiment, and the fact traders are net-long suggests Gold prices may continue to fall. From a technical viewpoint, gold remains under downside pressure from all three simple moving averages with the 20-day sma (red line) acting as initial resistance this week. Prior to 2020, this was not the case as the industry did not offer much earnings growth nor yield, but this has changed with gold solidifying itself above $1,500/oz.
less The price of gold is struggling to find any real direction with all of this week’s gains given back so far. While most asset classes have started off the year with a strong performance, the Gold Miners Index (GDX) has continued to struggle.

Iran, which sits on the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves, relies heavily on oil revenue, but sanctions have prevented it from pumping at anywhere near capacity since 2018. Oil prices have erased nearly half of this week’s gains and are expected to retrace further down before resuming the upward trend. So far build back better means that if you are a union oil or gas worker, you are at high risk of being unemployed. This enforces our base case scenario published in a previous article of a short term correction in oil prices before it resumes its rally again.
Oil prices dropped after OPEC lowered its demand forecast. That means that to hit peak oil demand by 2025, China needs to significantly boost the efficiency of traditional transportation options. But Chinese energy companies are starting to look ahead to an overall peak in oil demand around mid-decade. Gas might seem a safer bet than oil for a decarbonizing world, but it comes with many of the same challenges.
In theory, China has lots of room to cut oil consumption by shifting more shipments from road to rail, investing in better urban public transportation and improving city planning. China is far and away the world’s largest importer of crude oil, bringing in more than 10 million barrels a day in 2020.

These firms typically execute small investors’ orders privately instead of routing them to public markets including the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market. US stock futures are trading lower today indicating a negative start for Wall Street indices. Nasdaq Futures are trading down by 27 points, while Dow Futures are trading down by 70 points. US stock futures are trading lower today, indicating a negative opening for Wall Street. Trump attorney David Schoen suggested his team’s opening arguments could only take a few hours and the trial could be “over by Saturday.”
UBS said in a note to clients that “we’re mindful of valuation that appears full,” even though upcoming test flights create an appealing “catalyst chain.
Wall Street futures and European shares slipped as market participants awaited for signs of progress towards more U.S. fiscal stimulus. WSJ analyzed how Reddit posts, YouTube videos and tweets by personalities including Elon Musk spread online and fueled a trading craze that turned Wall Street upside down. less (NASDAQ: BMBL) scores over (NASDAQ: MTCH) despite the surge the former’s stock saw on its public debut, according to Jim Cramer.
BEFORE THE BELL Wall Street futures slipped as investors awaited for signs of progress towards more U.S. fiscal stimulus.

Beijing appears to have stepped up its harassment of the foreign press, which includes arresting reporters and denying others credentials.

Without a settlement, financial services will fragment across the continent, driving up complexity and costs for everyone, including the EU, the central banker said. Post-Brexit tariffs on flour mean the price of bread in Ireland could rise by almost a 10th, Food Drink Ireland said. Speaking to a parliamentary committee this week, Emma Churchill, the civil servant in charge of Britain s Brexit response, said there is absolute certainty about the changes. But six weeks after the Brexit arrangements between the EU and U.K. took effect, wrangling continues over how to make trade move smoothly.
Half of U.K. exporters are facing post-Brexit difficulties that could threaten an economic recovery, according to a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce. Real-time data underscore that Brexit and the pandemic s dent to trade isn t letting up. The divorce is getting uglier, with the European Union winning custody of more London financial services.Amsterdam has toppled London as Europe s biggest share-trading center.
The British government has so far held off applying controls on imports from the EU to ease the burden on businesses. Rosalind Mathieson Depleted shelves in a Marks and Spencer store in Belfast as retailers experience disruptions while they adapt to post-Brexit arrangements. If Brexit’s affecting you or your business, please get in touch.