Market Commentary
WTI Oil Futures Trade Near $90 a Barrel in New York
.
West Texas Intermediate traded near $90 a barrel, a level
it has held above so far this year, after money managers cut bets on rising prices. Futures were little changed in New York after sliding to a 10
-
week low on March 1. Net long positions in WTI dropped 1
6 percent, according to weekly data from the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission. Services industries in China expanded at the slowest pace in five months in February, a survey of purchasing managers showed yesterday.
WTI for April delivery fell as much as 59 cents to $90.09 a barrel in
electronic trading on the New York
Mercantile Exchange It was at $90.80
. Prices declined 2.6 percent last week
for
a second weekly drop and are down 1.1 percent this year.
WTI last traded at $90 on Dec. 31 and dipped to $90.04 in intraday trading March 1.
Brent for April settlement gained 27 cents to $110.67 a barrel on the London
-
based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark grade was at a premium of $19.87 to WTI futures, from $19.72 on March 1. The volume of all futures traded was 16 percent below t
he 100 day average for WTI and 36 percent higher for Brent
.
Gold Swings as Investors Weigh Stimulus Against Dollar
.
Gold futures climbed for the first time in four days in New York on speculation that central banks will continue stimulus to spur economic growth. China’s services industry expanded at the slowest in five months in February, data showed yesterday, and data released last week showed manufacturing missed estimates. Physical gold demand picked up “markedly” below
$1,600 an ounce, Standard Bank Plc’s SBG Securities (Pty) Ltd. said in a report
today. The dollar was little changed near a six month high versus six counterparts before data this week forecast to show Europe’s economy contracted and as Italy edged closer to a new election.
Gold futures for April delivery rose 0.4 percent to $1,578.10 an ounce
on the Comex in New York
. Prices were little ch last week. Futures trading volume was 3 percent below the average in the past 100 days for this time of day. Gold for immediate delivery was up 0.2 percent at $1,578.94 in
London
.
Bullion rallied the past 12 years as nations from the U.S. to
China pledged more stimulus to bolster economic growth. The metal is down 5.8 percent this year and fell for afifth month in February, the longest run of declines since 1997. Investors sold the most ever from exchange
-traded products last month, and the 2,506 metric tons now held is 4.8 percent below the Dec. 20 record, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Silver for May delivery rose 0.8 percent to $28.705 an ounce in New York. It’s down 5.1 percent this year and reached $27.925 on March 1, the lowest since Aug. 16. A close at $28.0808 would be a 20 percent drop from Oct. 4, the common definition of a
bear market
.
Copper Rebounds From 3
-
Month Low on Kuroda’s Pledge, U.S. Data
.
Copper gained for the first time in three days in London
after Bank of Japan governor nominee Haruhiko Kuroda
said he would do whatever it take to curb deflation and as U.S. manufacturing data beat expectations. Aluminum rose for the first time in 11 days. Copper for delivery in three months climbed as much as 0.8 percent to $7,761 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange before trading at $7,749
. The metal touched $7,652 on March 1, the lowest since Nov. 19, and dropped 1.3 percent last week.
Kuroda told a parliamentary hearing that the BOJ hasn’t bought enough assets to end deflation. U.S.
consumer confidence increased and manufacturing grew at the fastest
pace since June 2011, easing concern about the economy as $85 billion of fed
eral spending cuts were set to begin
