Precious Metals: Platinum climbed on supply concerns

Precious metals moved higher on Wednesday as broadly weaker greenback lent support for dollar-priced commodities. However, upbeat numbers from the US housing market coupled with increased cautiousness ahead of the EU summit created pressure on precious metals.

Gold was steady as investors continued to anticipate the results of the EU summit. At the same time, signs of the US economic recovery limited gains of the yellow metal.

Silver rose amid strong global equities and weak greenback. However, strong US data raised concerns over the extent of the easing measures, thus pressurizing the white metal.

Platinum extended previous gains, drawing strength from on-going strikes at South African platinum mines.

Palladium was the top-performer on hopes that industrial demand for the precious metal may rise amid positive signs from the US economy.


Industrial Metals: Nickel rose despite weak demand

Base metals rallied on Wednesday as US real estate market data signaled that the world’s top economy is recovering. However, investors remained cautious ahead of China GDP data release due early on Thursday.

Aluminum was the best-performer, rebounding after previous losses on positive headlines from the US. However, the upswing was capped by persistent oversupply in the market.

Copper advanced on promising numbers from the US housing market and eased concerns over Spanish bailout.

Nickel rose despite subdued demand and elevated global inventory levels.

Zinc moved in sync with copper and nickel, adding 1.24%. However, bleak demand prospects continued to weight on the metal.


Energy: Natural gas advanced despite US inventory buildup

Energy futures were mixed on Wednesday after a release of the US supply data. Meanwhile, upbeat US data improved appetite for riskier assets, thus supporting the commodity group. Moreover, growing tensions in the Middle East coupled with soft greenback also added to gains of energy futures.

Crude oil was flat after the EIA reported that US crude oil supplies climbed by 2.9 million barrels last week compared to a forecast of a 1.7-million-barrel increase.

Brent oil was the top-loser as elevated US inventories and global demand concerns continued to weight on the commodity. Restricting the downswing, US building permits and housing starts rose more than expected last month.

Natural gas bounced off one-week low ahead of the US inventory report due on Thursday. Last week natural gas supplies stood 8% above the average range for this year period.

Heating oil declined despite further decrease in the US stockpiles. US distillate fuel supplies dropped by 2.2 million barrels last week and are standing below the lower limit of the average range.


Agriculture: Sugar fell as output in Brazil is set to rise

Farm commodities were mixed on Wednesday amid broadly weaker US Dollar and positive economic data from the US. However, soft demand for US exports weighted down on the commodity group.

Wheat was the top-performer, erasing previous losses as dry weather in the US southern Great Plaints is threatening to cap output. At the same time, rains in Arkansas and Ohio are expected to boost output of Midwest varieties.

Corn was bullish on speculation that the USDA will not raise its domestic supply forecast again as the end of the harvesting period looms. Restricting the upswing, Argentina may increase corn export quotas between 2012 and 2013.

Sugar retreated as sugar-cane production in Brazil’s top-growing regions is likely to soar 13% in the season starting from April.

Coffee dropped as US inventories posted the longest jump in almost nine years. Speculation that Brazil’s growers may increase sales also weighted down on 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