Precious Metals: Silver climbed on weak greenback

Precious metals moved higher on Tuesday amid broadly lower US Dollar. Market sentiment was also boosted by eased concerns over spreading eurzone crisis after Moody’s affirmed Spain’s rating. Meanwhile, global growth fears and hopes for further easing continued to provide support for the commodity group.

Gold jumped as reports that Spain moves closer to applying for a bailout sent the greenback lower. Adding to gains of the yellow metal, holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded funds continued to hover near a record high of 75.03 million ounces.

Silver rose on rallying global equities and weaker US Dollar. Moreover, mild inflationary pressure in the US fueled speculation that the Fed is likely to continue stimulus measures.

Platinum gained amid lingering worries over labour unrest in South Africa as about 80,000 mineworkers continued to strike across the country.

Palladium was the top-performer despite weak automobile sales in Europe. Car sales in Europe plummeted 11% in September.


Industrial Metals: Copper gained on upbeat German and US data

Industrial metals apart from copper extended previous losses on Tuesday despite easing worries over fiscal instability in eurozone. Market players were cautious ahead of China’s GDP data release due on Thursday. At the same time, upbeat reading of the US industrial production for September capped the downswing of base metals.

Aluminum dropped amid on-going concerns over global supply glut. Rising cautiousness among investors ahead of China’s GDP reading also weighted down on the light metal.

Copper was the only gainer as German investors’ confidence continued to ameliorate for the second consecutive month in October, suggesting that the analysts’ outlook on the top-eurozone economy is improving.

Nickel retreated amid weak quarterly results of the largest Chinese steelmakers.

Zinc shed 0.89% as global downside risks persist. Moreover, global surplus and weak demand added to losses of the metal.


Energy: Brent oil dropped after expiration of November contract

Energy futures except for crude oil retreated on Tuesday despite broadly lower greenback and encouraging US and German numbers. Lending additional support for energy prices, output from the North Sea continued to drop while turmoil in the Middle East persisted.

Crude oil was the only gainer amid depreciating US Dollar and strong economic data from the US and Germany. Easing concerns over debt crisis in Spain also supported the commodity price.

Brent oil started the session on the positive note, attaining a four-week high of USD116 per barrel during intraday trade. However, the commodity futures ended the day in the red territory as November contract expired on Tuesday.

Natural gas dipped to one-week low amid persistent worries over bloated US inventories. An updated weather forecasts also created heavy selling pressure on the commodity.

Heating oil prolonged its slump ahead of the weekly inventory report due on Wednesday.


Agriculture: Corn edged up as US farmers may slow sales

Rural commodities, excluding wheat, advanced on Tuesday, drawing strength from weak US Dollar and positive data releases from the US and Europe. Capping the upside of farm commodities, demand for US exports remained soft due to availability of cheaper supplies from Brazil and Russia.

Wheat inched down for the third consecutive session on speculation that rains in Kansas, the top US grower of winter varieties, will boost harvest prospects.

Corn eased higher as US farmers may slow sales to increase prices. The US exports continued to fall last week as US corn prices are higher than those of South America.

Sugar advanced despite speculation that global supply glut will persist for third year in a row as Brazil and Australia continued to expand output.

Coffee gained in risk-on trade as weaker US Dollar prompted investors to turn to riskier assets. However, eased supply concerns in Brazil limited gains of coffee futures.


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