Open: New York Session | Forex, Metals, Oil, Agriculture October 28, 2020

A member of the National Guard plays a trumpet during a flag rai

Agriculture

Israeli food tech firm DouxMatok and Rogers Sugar said they would collaborate to sell DouxMatok’s sugar reduction technology to North American companies. They said they are collaborating with a number of food companies on new products and reformulating existing products with less sugar and more fibre and protein. DouxMatok said that amid growing concerns of obesity, it was targeting a reduction of sugar in baked goods by 30% to 50% without a reduction in taste.
It said farmers had completed the wheat and barley harvest and collected 14.5 million tonnes of corn from 3.07 million hectares, or 56% of the sown area. Lantic and DouxMatok have been working together for two years on reducing sugar content in cookies, cakes, chocolate and other products while retaining the same taste. Rogers is the parent of Lantic, which operates sugar cane refineries across Canada. Rise in global soybean price too is exerting its impact on India via the soybean oil import route.
Any offer at $500 a tonne will result in import parity.Not only pulses, soybean prices too have risen to around ₹4,300 a quintal, well above the MSP of ₹3,880. STOCKS TO WATCH Rogers Sugar Inc (RSI). Through October, the price of corn has jumped 28.05% according to Cepea.

Currencies

The dollar index rose, with implied volatility gauges in the euro and the yen hitting multi-month highs ahead of next week s U.S. elections. This implies gold and the 10-year rate are likely to go higher and the dollar is likely to move lower. “We expect an intra-day range of 73.65-74.05,” he said.Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.16 per cent to 93.09. Gene comments on stock, bond, dollar, oil & gold markets, with a particular emphasis on monetary policy, technology issues and S&P intraday action.
Gold is used as both a hedge against the loss of purchasing power of a weaker dollar and for pullbacks in equity portfolios, the note said. During Bretton Woods the U.S. dollar was the world reserve currency, backed by gold at a fixed parity of $35 per troy ounce. The euro fell against the dollar following a media report that France’s government was leaning toward reinstating a national lockdown to curb a resurgence in coronavirus cases.
This implies a continuation in the gold rally, continued weakness in the dollar, and a slow increase in the 10-year rate until we leave the QE zone. This implies a dropping dollar and rising gold going forward as long as reverse repo continues to decline. With $3.1 billion of total debt and bonds trading at 56 cents on the dollar, the prospects for at least recovering those 56 cents appear incredibly high.

Metals

Gold prices are soaring, yet gold miners are undervalued compared to the price of the metal. If you are unfamiliar with Barrick Gold, here’s a quick summary: Barrick is a senior gold miner (1+ million oz. Half the negative spikes were followed by rallies in gold and half by drops in the gold price. All of Germany’s official gold reserves have been accumulated in between 1951 and 1968, but Germany hardly ever redeemed dollars for gold at the U.S. Treasury.
Storing gold with allies provides safety, but when political ties weaken, storing gold abroad becomes a hazard. Because gold serves as the backstop of the international financial system, the global distribution of gold influences the balance of power. The note continues, adding with gold currently in the low $1,900s per ounce, it could be at $2,300 per ounce next year. As for production growth, Barrick is already producing upwards of 5 million ounces of gold per year profitably. The CPI:2y rate ratio might be considered a measure of inflation in relation to near-term interest rates, and it shows a strong positive correlation with the price of gold.
Even with the recent volatility in prices, gold remains among the best-performing commodities this year to combat the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Oil

A collapse in crude oil prices has forced most oil and gas producers to drastically cut costs by laying off thousands of employees and cutting down on drilling. The body estimated US crude oil inventories to have gone up by 4.6 million bbl against a Reuters poll estimate of a build of 1.2 million bbl. He said that the big oil trade for him is oil stocks because they are holding ground amid bad headlines. Predicated on a rebound in gasoline demand and constrained shale supply, U.S. oil prices could rise to $65 per barrel late next year, the bank’s report predicts.
Oil majors will be in focus as covid cases surge in Europe and US the price of oil is tumbling lower. Oil (OIL) has skidded over 3% lower in early trade, paring gains from the previous session. I have worked in the areas of oil refining, natural gas production, synthetic fuels, ethanol production, butanol production, and various biomass to energy projects. Natural gas producer EQT said on Tuesday it will buy U.S. oil major Chevron’s assets in the Appalachian basin for $735 million.
The American Petroleum Institute said stockpiles of U.S. crude rose by 4.6 million barrels in the past week, exceeding consensus forecasts of 1.1 million barrels, Mr. Martinsen said. Low oil prices and uncertainty in demand are the main drivers even as the NPD warned that without new discoveries, production could start falling rapidly post 2030.

United States

Wall Street futures were lower, mirroring global shares, on concerns over possible strict lockdown measures due to the rapidly increasing coronavirus cases in the U.S. and Europe. Market sentiments were also weighed after U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged that a coronavirus economic relief package will only likely come after the November 3 election. Election uncertainty also has market players hesitant to make big moves despite the earnings parade coming down Wall Street.
There are three main election scenarios that would all yield distinct results for XAU/USD: President Donald Trump is trailing rival Joe Biden in national and state polls. Abrams comments at the start of this week emphasized the US military would likely take them out once they reached Venezuelan soil. Recent opinion polls have continued showing President Donald Trump trailing behind challenger Joe Biden, yet the surprise from four years ago is on investors’ minds.
In addition to manufacturing data, the Richmond Fed also includes indices of the service sector. Critics said it was another example of the Trump administration favoring business interests over regulations, just a week before the presidential election. US stock futures are trading lower today, indicating a negative opening for Wall Street indices. The Richmond Fed’s composite reading on the manufacturing sector rose 8 points to a record high of 29.

China

At the same time, too weak of a currency could invite fresh U.S. accusations that Beijing is deliberately keeping the yuan undervalued to supercharge exports.

Europe

This new spike in coronavirus cases comes as the latest ECB monetary policy decisions and press conference hove into view tomorrow. Lockdowns German Chancellor Angela Merkel will push for tougher curbs, including shutting bars and restaurants until the end of November, when she meets with regional leaders today. French President Macron will hold a televised address Wednesday evening to announce new steps which may include a one-month lockdown. Given the speedy economic deterioration, all eyes are turning to central banks again, especially the ECB that is due to meet tomorrow.
These moves will up the pressure on the ECB to deliver more stimulus to support the bloc’s fragile economy. The country responded with mass protest marches in major cities and President Emmanuel Macron vowed to protect freedom of expression in honor of the victim. The ECB may also publish its long-awaited strategic review, which may include a dovish tilt. In Germany, Merkel has proposed closing German bars and restaurants for one month.
We also publish the Brexit Bulletin, a daily briefing on the latest on the U.K. s departure from the EU.
Fishing remains a significant bone of contention but the EU has moved to ease one headache related to stock-trading.

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