Open: London Session | Forex, Metals, Oil, Agriculture March 30, 2021

A stronger-than-expected dollar and rising bond rates have also dragged bullion down from its record high in August last year. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.01 per cent to 92.94. “The US dollar was flat against the basket of currencies in Asian trade. The ECB is currently accelerating its bond purchases to push back against higher borrowing costs, reflecting a widening divergence between the euro-area and U.S. economies.
The U.S. dollar held steady.

Silver, gold, and other hard assets also stand to benefit from the broader rise inflationary pressures likely to accompany Washington’s spending spree. The green energy components in particular could result in massive demand increase for metals including silver. Implementing the “Build Back Better” agenda will require concrete, steel, copper, and other commodities – lots of them. Silver is a superior conductor of electricity. Electrification has a silver lining – literally.
Platinum and silver declined.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.11 per cent to $65.05 per barrel. Lockdowns imposed across countries can impact the global demand and world economy growth severely which also led to sharp correction in the crude oil prices. Meanwhile, oil supplies swelled as Iran ramped up exports to China in defiance of U.S. sanctions.Within a week of hitting a one-year high, oil futures surrendered almost $10. The rest of OPEC+ “will hold production steady in May, given current physical oil market weakness.”An increase from the wider 23-nation coalition is more likely later in the year.
The cartel’s intervention has helped to boost crude prices more than 20% this year even as the economic ravages of the pandemic continued. The coalition led by Saudi Arabia was widely criticized three weeks ago when it rebuffed calls to revive some of the crude production halted during the pandemic. It has shored-up revenues both for its members and a beleaguered global oil industry.Three weeks ago, it was under fire.
Crude trading in Asia slowed as a lackluster tourist season failed to stimulate fuel demand. But a resurgence of the virus elsewhere has convinced the cartel it made the right call, according to several OPEC+ delegates who asked to speak anonymously. It is also expanding subsidies and incentives for electric vehicles sold to consumers, with the stated goal of ultimately banning the sale of gasoline-powered cars.

However, the downside could be capped amid a spike in treasury yields, as accelerating vaccinations and massive stimulus in the US stoked inflation concerns,” the Reliance Securities note said. Mr. Kotok’s articles and financial market commentaries have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and other publications. U.S. futures fluctuated as traders assessed broader Wall Street exposures, while European contracts rose. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained overnight, tech-heavy Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended in the red.

Since the introduction in the EU of a monetary union (around 1995), Italy has been suffering the worst period with several consecutive economic falls. In this blog, I recommended France and Italy to leave the EU as Germany squeezes them as a piton. A Brexit museum.