Open: New York Session | Forex, Metals, Oil, Agriculture August 07, 2020

In a statement, ProAgro said it had increased its 2020 wheat harvest outlook to 26.59 million tonnes from 26.07 million and corn to 38.86 million tonnes from 38.49 million. Corn fritters | First, poor weather left France with a paltry wheat harvest. Back in North Dakota, wheat farmer Troy Bratcher had to pass on growing grain on an extra 500 acres this year because of the labor issues. Bin buster | Canadian farmers are poised add to a global glut of wheat with a bin-busting harvest.
Now the nation s driest July in six decades is threatening its corn fields. Coca-Cola recently expanded its presence in the hot-beverage market through its acquisition of Costa, a leading coffee company in the United Kingdom.

You may recall that that bear market for the dollar was also a great time to own precious metals and commodities. So much for buying and holding… As the US dollar continues to deteriorate, then commodities tend to rally, especially precious metals. This can be the start of the dollar deprecation cycle and thereby lead to rotation of liquidity flows into value from growth and Emerging markets equities from developed world. A fixed amount of foreign currency against a depreciating dollar can buy more gold and silver at a constant commodity price, supporting more upside.
Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which gauges the value of the greenback against a basket of key global currencies, rose 0.32 per cent to 93.08. As the US dollar continues to deteriorate, then commodities tend to rally, especially precious metals. FOREX: The U.S. dollar rebounded whilst other major currencies weakened after President Donald Trump took steps to ban transactions with the Chinese owners of two popular mobile apps.
The U.S. dollar rebounded against other major currencies, while gold prices slipped. Goldman Sachs commodity strategist Jeffrey Currie wrote that “real concerns around the longevity of the US dollar as a reserve currency have started to emerge. If the report shows a substantial hit to employment – due to the resurgence of coronavirus – the dollar has room to decline.

Especially given the fact that right now, the gold price is much higher than the Q2 average realized gold price. Newmont Corp. (NEM) and Barrick Gold Corp. (GOLD), each with a market cap above $50 billion, are both up about 65% year to date. Gold at $100 billion might sound sensational but remember that the world has seen a lot higher gold in fiat money. In global markets, gold continued its record-breaking streak as the prospect of more stimulus and simmering US-China tensions boosted the safe-haven appeal of gold.
Gold has reached another multi-year record high with $1,716 per ounce for the second quarter and is now trading above $2,000/ ounce. Source: Presentation AISC Table below Newmont (NYSE: NEM), Barrick Gold (NYSE: GOLD), Agnico Eagle (NYSE: AEM), and Kirkland Lake. In the previous session, gold had surged 1.3%, hitting an intraday high of Rs 56,079 per 10 grams, while silver had jumped 5.6% or Rs 4,100 per kg. MACRO Gold prices continue to dominate market attention after the remarkable advance of 75 dollars per ounce over the last few sessions.
Gold and silver have faded some of their record gains, with silver dropping modestly after rising just shy of $30 late on Thursday. The likely result: Gold and silver mining stocks will jump off the screens of anyone tracking earnings and/or price momentum.

The oil and gas producer on Thursday reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss as the COVID-19 pandemic hammered crude prices and eroded demand for fuel. The first thing to note is that oil prices have a significant effect on spot breakeven inflation via their effect on gasoline prices. Rising cases remain the key uncertainty for fuel demand recovery and in turn oil prices, while the virus relief package remains the last hope to boost demand. Oil prices plunged to historic lows earlier this year as travel and business restrictions sapped demand, while oversupply forced producers to slash output.
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In commodities, crude futures have been moving slightly lower through Europe, although by no means significant, with oil demand more sheltered from the US-China tech battle. This has led the Agency to raise the retail pump price for gasoline to Naira 138.62/litre effective from August 5, alongside the recovery in the wider crude oil complex.
In the likely scenario that stricter environmental policies are enacted moving forward, natural gas fuels could end up becoming more cost-competitive than traditional fuels. Natural gas fuels are undoubtedly cleaner than more traditional fuels like gasoline or diesel. Natural gas fuels are far cleaner than more popular fuels like gasoline.

President Trump said yesterday that he will sign executive orders extending enhanced unemployment benefits and imposing a payroll tax holiday if no agreement on a broader package is reached. Last night, Trump issued yet another executive order targeting both TikTok owner ByteDance and Tencent-owned WeChat, another popular Chinese social media company. – The two companies must cease operations in the US in 45 days, after which no US individuals or businesses are allowed to do business with the companies.
Donald Trump dramatically escalated his push against Chinese tech, signing executive orders banning U.S. residents from doing business with TikTok or parent ByteDance, or with Tencent’s WeChat. In the order, Trump essentially formalized threats made a week ago by setting a time limit for barring both companies from the US. Whilst tech was always an undercurrent in the US – Sino trade war, this latest move points to the potential start of a more explicit tech war?
It’s still unknown how far President Trump’s executive action will go, but U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is set to identify transactions covered by the order. President Donald Trump hit ByteDance, the Chinese owner of the popular social network with an executive order that will likely hasten its firesale to Microsoft. Wall Street futures fell, mirroring global equities, after President Donald Trump s decision to ban U.S. transactions with the Chinese owners of WeChat and TikTok escalated Sino-U.S. tensions.
Furthermore, Trump’s Working Group on Financial Markets recommended that Chinese companies currently listed on US exchanges should be delisted if they do not become compliant with US accounting standards.

The sale, as one US military magazine previously put it, “marks Beijing’s most significant foray into a continent where armed forces have traditionally relied on US and European weapon-makers.” Several factors underpinned Beijing’s success: public support, a large domestic market, and a major industrial complex. The move came days after the U.S. announced the highest-level official visit to Taiwan since it switched ties to Beijing in 1979, prompting a complaint from Beijing.
A clear disadvantage is that Beijing has not yet set a clear goal for an emissions-free society by 2050 as the EU has.
Last year the Serbian president signed several agreements with Beijing to expand the Belt and Road in the country. Rosalind Mathieson A customer uses WeChat to pay for some poultry at a market stall in Beijing on May 6, 2019. The PBOC strategy appears to be to preserve the interest-rate differential that can lure investors to yuan-denominated assets.

The EU agreed to a 1.82 Trillion Budget of which 750 billion Euros is Coronavirus Aid, 390 billion Euros in grants & 360 billion euros is loans. Last night the SNP said Mr Sunak should apologise to people in Scotland “paying the price” for his party’s Brexit policy. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had been denying the need for such checks and this move is coming under criticism that adds to his woes as the coronavirus crisis continues. Sterling fell after a post-BOE advance on Thursday, as traders take stock of officials distancing themselves from negative rates and an optimistic view of the U.K’s economic recovery.
Boris Johnson is under pressure to explain whether Dominic Cummings has demanded access to top-secret military sites, sparking a turf war with defence chiefs. Also, as Germany took over the six-month EU Council Presidency on July 1, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier devoted a significant portion of his speech to green hydrogen. The EU and Germany have learned from their mistakes and from China’s success, which is being emulated towards the hydrogen economy.
In recent weeks Mr Sunak’s Treasury colleague Steve Barclay, business secretary Alok Sharma and Boris Johnson have all made the trip north. The EU hopes to produce 1 million tonnes from 6 GW of electrolysis capacity by 2024.