Precious Metals: Gold rallied amid weak job reports from the US

Precious metals rallied for the second trading day on Friday as weaker-than-expected US job reports fuelled hopes for stimulus measures in the US. Recent ECB decision on unlimited bond-buying program also continued to lend support for the commodity group.

Gold soared amid broadly weaker US Dollar and hopes for easing in the US amid weak labour market.

Silver followed the yellow metal’s suit, surging 3.20% on disappointing US labour market data.

Platinum was bullish on news that labour unrest at Lonmin’s South Africa mine continued as miners refused to return to work unless the company increases wages.

Palladium moved higher, tacking strong performance of global stock market and base metals group .


Industrial Metals: Aluminum rose on rebounding vehicle demand

Base metals surged on Friday, boosted by mounting hopes for the Fed stimulus. Adding to the positive mood of the industrial metals, China’s government approved infrastructural projects worth more than USD157 billion in an attempt to revive economic expansion.

Aluminum climbed on brighter demand prospects from vehicle market. Speculation that the Fed will loosen its monetary policy also buoyed the light metal.

Copper was the top-performer after weaker-than-expected US job reports spurred speculation that the Fed will embark on easing program in the nearest future.

Nickel advanced despite persistent protests over employment contract terms by workers at Arcelor Mittal’s US steel.

Zinc went up on hopes for stronger demand as China approved financing for infrastructural projects.


Energy: Crude oil inched up on mounting US stimulus hopes

Energy commodities apart from natural gas were slightly higher on Friday amid rising hopes for easing program in the US after weak labour market data. However, concerns that US strategic oil reserves may be released to ease pressure from tightening oil supplies weighted down on the energy prices.

Crude oil gained almost 1%, drawing strength from recent ECB decision and hops for easing in the US. Larger than expected decline in the US crude oil inventories last week also lifted the commodity futures.

Brent oil ended the week in positive territory despite fading supply concerns as worries over production disruption in the Gulf of Mexico eased.

Natural gas extended previous slump despite lower inventories in the US. On Thursday, the EIA reported a 28-billion cubic feet increase in natural gas storage last week compared to a 36-billion cubic feet expected rise.

Heating oil edged up as US inventories remained below the lower limited of the average range for this year period last week.


Agriculture: Wheat climbed on stronger demand for US supplies

Agricultural commodities jumped on Friday amid broadly weaker greenback and strengthening demand. Meanwhile, market participants remained focused on crop reports releases from the US and weather forecasts in the top-growing regions.

Wheat rose for the third consecutive session on signs that demand for US shipments is improving as cheaper Russia’s supplies started to fall.

Corn inched up after Informa Economics downgraded its forecast for US corn crops by 0.3% this season, citing severe drought in the Midwest.

Sugar bounced off two-year low on speculation that lower sweetener’s prices are spurring demand for the commodity. At the same time, India’s sugar output is set to rise 11% next year due to increased planting and favorable weather conditions.

Coffee was the best-performer despite high global supplies. Colombia’s coffee production is likely to reach nine million bags this season due to better crop conditions.


EXPLANATIONS

Commodities

  • Gold - spot 995 fine gold

  • Silver - spot 999 fine silver

  • Platinum - spot platinum with minimum purity 99.95%

  • Palladium - spot palladium with minimum purity 99.95%

  • Aluminium - three-month forward contract on the London Metal Exchange

  • Copper - three-month forward contract on the London Metal Exchange

  • Zinc - three-month forward contract on the London Metal Exchange

  • Nickel - three-month forward contract on the London Metal Exchange

  • Crude oil - light, sweet crude oil active contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange

  • Brent oil - Brent oil active contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange

  • Natural Gas - natural gas active contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange

  • Heating oil - heating oil active contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange

  • Sugar - white sugar wheat active contract on the Chicago Board of Trade

  • Wheat - wheat active contract on the Chicago Board of Trade

  • Coffee - benchmark Arabica coffee active contract on the NYB-ICE Futures Exchange

  • Corn - corn active contract on the Chicago Board of Trade

Indices

  • Dow Jones-UBS Precious Metals Subindex Total Return - commodity group subindex composed of gold and silver; the index reflects return on underlying commodity futures price movement

  • Dow Jones-UBS Industry Metals Subindex Total Return - commodity group subindex composed of futures contracts on aluminium, copper, nickel and zinc; the index reflects return on fully collateralized futures positions

  • Dow Jones-UBS Energy Subindex Total Return - commodity group subindex composed of futures contracts on crude oil, heating oil, unleaded gasoline and natural gas; the index reflects return on fully collateralized futures positions

  • Dow Jones-UBS Agriculture Subindex Total Return - commodity group subindex composed of futures contracts on coffee, corn, cotton, soybeans, soybean oil, sugar and wheat; the index reflects return on fully collateralized futures positions

Chart

  • SMA (20) - Simple Moving Average of 20 periods

  • SMA (60) - Simple Moving Average of 60 periods

  • Correlation - a statistical measure of the linear relationship of two random variables. It is defined as the covariance divided by the standard deviation of two variables

Indicators

Daily Ranked Price Moves - daily price changes in an ascending order for positive changes and in a descending order for negative or mixed changes

Monthly Ranked Price Moves - monthly price changes in an ascending order for positive changes and in a descending order for negative or mixed changes