Close: London Session | Forex, Metals, Oil, Agriculture February 17, 2021

Good-Pub-Guide-2016-average-UK-beer-prices_wrbm_large

Agriculture

Frozen food | The deep freeze in the U.S. is also snarling grain transportation, delaying shipments of goods from corn to soybeans and slowing ethanol production. Almost all major commodities are up year to date except for precious metals, cocoa, and coffee. Over two decades ago Jay got his start at the Kansas City Board of Trade in the Wheat Futures pit.

Currencies

In global markets, gold prices fell to near two-week lows amid a stronger US dollar and hardening of US bond yields. less After reversing higher yesterday, the US dollar sees follow-through gains today, leaving the euro around a cent lower from yesterday’s highs. Margaret Yang, a strategist at DailyFx, noted that bullion prices are likely to be under pressure in the near-term as investors focus on the rising dollar and Treasury yields. The DXY US Dollar Index rebounded from a two-week low to 90.64, exerting further pressure on gold and crude oil prices.
A more dovish-than-expected stance from policymakers may lead the US Dollar lower and probably provide gold prices some support. The dollar immediately spiked higher against all major currencies, while gold, silver and US stocks retreated. In the face of rising yields and the dollar’s bounce, gold took it on the chin. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, gained 0.35 per cent to 90.82.
The bank is likely to reiterate its commitment to low rates and its bond-buying scheme, which means keeping yields – and the US dollar – in check. The dollar rose pushing gold prices down.

Metals

The global miner declared a record final dividend of $3.09 per share, up from $2.31 in 2019, and announced a special dividend payout of 93 cents a share. In 2002 when gold was $300 per ounce, MAM recommended to its investors to put 50% of their investment assets into physical gold stored outside the banking system. Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.7% at Rs 46,561 per 10 grams. In August gold had hit a record high of Rs 56,200 per 10 grams.
The Gold Analyst offers quality technical and fundamental analysis of the price of gold to help educate readers in their investment decisions. less Gold and WTI crude oil prices both traded lower during Wednesday’s APAC session, as the US Treasury yields climbed to their highest level seen in almost a year. Spot gold is currently trading at $1,786.36 per ounce as of 0827 GMT. Looking ahead, an impending US fiscal stimulus package, improving pandemic situations, as well as a brighter economic outlook may lead yields to rise further and thus suppress gold prices.
The GoldSwitzerland Division was created to facilitate the buying and storage of physical gold and silver for private investors, companies, trusts and pension funds. Tracking softer global prices, gold prices in India skidded for the fifth day in a row.

Oil

MARKETS TODAY OIL: Oil prices advanced further, underpinned by major supply disruption in the south of the United States this week caused by a winter storm in Texas. The informal group of some of the world’s biggest oil producers effectively agreed to maintain their collective oil output at about 7.1 million barrels a day through February. It expects annual oil production of between 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) and 165,000 bpd this year, compared with 2020 production of 160,505 barrels per day.
Efforts by producers to reduce supply and rebalance oil markets, led by Saudi Arabia, have also shored up oil futures, analysts say. less Oil prices and gas prices continue their surge as the epic fail of wind and solar is causing blackouts and power outages. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.60 per cent to USD 63.73 per barrel. The recovery in oil prices has been supported by an unexpected cold spell in the U.S., which has affected short-term crude production.
The bound rate is as high as 300 per cent for palm oil, while on other oils it varies between 45 and 100 per cent.
Oil prices advanced due to supply disruption in the south of the United States caused by a winter storm in Texas. “The uncertainty is very high, and we have to be extremely cautious.” Oil prices this week returned to levels not seen since the Covid-19 pandemic erupted in early 2020.

United States

A group formed last year is reviewing cost-cutting efforts to make sure they don’t impede regulatory commitments, The Wall Street Journal reported last year. less The market largely continued last week’s mixed moves, with the S&P and Nasdaq mildly retreating from record highs and the Dow eking out another record close. Attention will now turn towards US retail sales and FOMC minutes for clues as to the next steps the Fed could take and whether the reflation trade has merit.
Taper Tantrum led to swifter lift-off expectations In short, 2013 tells us that the Fed struggles to separate tapering of asset purchases and lift-off expectations. Back in 2013, positive data surprises during 2013, in combination with the proposed tapering from the Fed, gave rise to a huge bond market sell-off. In an interview with CNBC, Bullard said that inflation in the US is on track to rise this year, and the Fed will have to reckon with this issue. The fund also stocked up on 7.4 million (NASDAQ: EA) shares and 3.9 million shares of (NASDAQ: TTWO).
At 19:00 GMT the minutes from the Fed’s recent meeting will be published. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is lower for the second consecutive session, while the US shares little changed with a heavier bias. Shopify appears to be one of Wall Street’s more controversial names, with roughly half its analysts now recommending the stock and half still on the sidelines.

China

Sponsored Offers Beijing Yanjing Brewery Company Limited 000729 SZ US$3,545m Beijing Yanjing Brewery Company Limited is a Chinese company brewing and distributing beer. Beijing Yanjing Brewery primary distributes its products in the domestic market.

Europe

Across the pond in London, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under growing pressure to bring as much economic activity as possible back to life. Finland s prime minister, Sanna Marin, is expected to survive a no-confidence vote in parliament today over her government’s handling of the EU recovery fund. Ryanair said it would appeal to the EU Court of Justice in a process likely to take several years. In annual terms, the EU economy contracted by 5.0% (vs. -5.1% expected), while in quarterly terms it lost 0.6% (compared to a projected -0.7%).
The European Union finalized an agreement with Pfizer and BioNTech of Germany for 200 million more doses of their vaccine. Goldman devised derivatives products that were based on complex models of how various markets would react if Brexit passed. The delay is another blow to the EU, which has also faced earlier delays on the Pfizer vaccine. The European Union overhauled its copyright laws in 2019, though the changes seem more limited in scope and power.

0