Commodities drag FTSE lower

Joshua Mahony MSTA Scope Markets

• Commodity stocks drag FTSE lower
• Crude tumbles as inventories rise
• Dollar rallies ahead of Yellen appearance

The FTSE has suffered a day of losses, as the deterioration in Glencore’s shares paved the way for other mining firms to suffer at the hands of weak sentiment and falling commodity prices. Commodity prices suffered at the hands of a resurgent dollar today, with Fresnillo and Randgold Resources feeling the effects of a circa 1% drop in gold prices, while a similar fate for copper prices sent Anglo American and Antofagasta southward.

Crude prices took a knock today as the US posted its fourth inventories build-up in five weeks. Despite being in so-called driving season, the build-up of surplus oil means that domestic demand is not keeping up with supply, which has become increasingly reliant upon international imports as output falls.

The dollar appears to be back in demand today, with the euro in particular falling sharply against the greenback. The rise of the dollar is a clear sign that markets are increasingly pricing in a relatively hawkish Yellen on Friday, following on from a number of Fed members who believe 2016 remains a viable time to hike.

Author

Joshua Mahony MSTA

Scope Markets

Joshua Mahony is Chief Markets Analyst at Scope Markets. Joshua has a particular focus on macro-economics and technical analysis, built up over his 11 years of experience as a market analyst across three brokers.

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