Market Commentary
Oil Gains on German Investor Outlook; BofA Sees $140 Brent.
West Texas Intermediate oil in New York fluctuated after a report showed that rising investor confidence in Germany, the world’s fifth biggest crude importing country. Brent futures traded in London may be capped at $140 a barrel this year, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.WTI traded in a 91-cent-a-barrel range. The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said its index of investor and analyst expectations climbed to highest in almost three years. Brent will trade in a range of $100 to $130 a barrel through to 2015, according to Francisco Blanch, head of commodities research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “The market is consolidating between $95 and $98,” said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “The German economic sentiment data was good, which is providing a little support. Investors are waiting for the economic data point that will be the catalyst to break out of this range.” WTI futures for March delivery, which expire tomorrow, fell 11 cents to $95.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The more-active April contract declined 19 cents to $96.22.
Gold Climbs From 6-Month Low in London; Platinum Advances.
Gold swung between gains and losses near a six-month low in London as investors weighed signs of improving economic growth against speculation that the biggest weekly drop since May will spur purchases. Platinum gained on reports of a shooting at an Anglo American Platinum Ltd. mine. The metal dropped 3.4 percent last week and holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products fell the most since July in the period on growing confidence that the global economy is strengthening. Billionaire investor George Soros cut his gold ETP holdings last quarter, government filings showed last week. UBS AG said in a report today that its gold flows to India, the top buyer, were above average after the sell-off, and Morgan Stanley said it expects “bargain hunting” this week. “In the face of increasingly positive economic data and good stock market yields, the zero returns of gold and silver are looking more and more unattractive,” David Govett, head of precious metals at Marex Spectron Group in London, wrote in a report today. “Gold has been meandering aimlessly for a while now and needed a move one way or the other to wash out a lot of stale positions. We have seen the return of the Asian market and some physical buying, albeit light.” Gold for immediate delivery was little changed at $1,611.67 an ounce. Prices fell as much as 0.1 percent after rising 0.5 percent earlier today, and slid to $1,598.23 on Feb. 15, the lowest since Aug. 15. Futures for April delivery were 0.1 percent higher at $1,611.30 on the Comex in New York.
Copper Retreats as Slowing Industrial Production May Curb Demand.
Copper fell on speculation that slowing industrial production from Europe to the U.S. may curb demand and as inventories tracked by the London Metal Exchange reached the highest level since November 2011. Copper for three-month delivery fell as much as 0.2 percent to $8,280 a metric ton on the LME and traded at $8,286. The metal for delivery in March gained 0.2 percent to $3.765 a pound on the Comex in New York. Markets in China, the biggest consumer, are closed this week for the Lunar New Year holiday. Industrial production in France, Europe’s second-largest economy, probably declined 0.2 percent in December from the previous month, when it rose 0.5 percent, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg before data today.
Industrial production in the U.S. may have risen 0.2 percent in January from a 0.3 percent gain in a month earlier, data may show this week.
Oil Gains on German Investor Outlook; BofA Sees $140 Brent.
West Texas Intermediate oil in New York fluctuated after a report showed that rising investor confidence in Germany, the world’s fifth biggest crude importing country. Brent futures traded in London may be capped at $140 a barrel this year, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.WTI traded in a 91-cent-a-barrel range. The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said its index of investor and analyst expectations climbed to highest in almost three years. Brent will trade in a range of $100 to $130 a barrel through to 2015, according to Francisco Blanch, head of commodities research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “The market is consolidating between $95 and $98,” said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “The German economic sentiment data was good, which is providing a little support. Investors are waiting for the economic data point that will be the catalyst to break out of this range.” WTI futures for March delivery, which expire tomorrow, fell 11 cents to $95.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The more-active April contract declined 19 cents to $96.22.
Gold Climbs From 6-Month Low in London; Platinum Advances.
Gold swung between gains and losses near a six-month low in London as investors weighed signs of improving economic growth against speculation that the biggest weekly drop since May will spur purchases. Platinum gained on reports of a shooting at an Anglo American Platinum Ltd. mine. The metal dropped 3.4 percent last week and holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products fell the most since July in the period on growing confidence that the global economy is strengthening. Billionaire investor George Soros cut his gold ETP holdings last quarter, government filings showed last week. UBS AG said in a report today that its gold flows to India, the top buyer, were above average after the sell-off, and Morgan Stanley said it expects “bargain hunting” this week. “In the face of increasingly positive economic data and good stock market yields, the zero returns of gold and silver are looking more and more unattractive,” David Govett, head of precious metals at Marex Spectron Group in London, wrote in a report today. “Gold has been meandering aimlessly for a while now and needed a move one way or the other to wash out a lot of stale positions. We have seen the return of the Asian market and some physical buying, albeit light.” Gold for immediate delivery was little changed at $1,611.67 an ounce. Prices fell as much as 0.1 percent after rising 0.5 percent earlier today, and slid to $1,598.23 on Feb. 15, the lowest since Aug. 15. Futures for April delivery were 0.1 percent higher at $1,611.30 on the Comex in New York.
Copper Retreats as Slowing Industrial Production May Curb Demand.
Copper fell on speculation that slowing industrial production from Europe to the U.S. may curb demand and as inventories tracked by the London Metal Exchange reached the highest level since November 2011. Copper for three-month delivery fell as much as 0.2 percent to $8,280 a metric ton on the LME and traded at $8,286. The metal for delivery in March gained 0.2 percent to $3.765 a pound on the Comex in New York. Markets in China, the biggest consumer, are closed this week for the Lunar New Year holiday. Industrial production in France, Europe’s second-largest economy, probably declined 0.2 percent in December from the previous month, when it rose 0.5 percent, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg before data today.
Industrial production in the U.S. may have risen 0.2 percent in January from a 0.3 percent gain in a month earlier, data may show this week.
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