Crude Oil Silver Free Trial

Crude oil futures declined in Asia morning session today depressed by the contraction in US manufacturing data releases yesterday.

Light and sweet crude oil futures for January delivery are trading down 23 cents at $ 88.86 per barrel in Asia today. Yesterday, it closed higher by $0.18 at $89.09/barrel. Prices rose to a high of $90.33/barrel during intraday trading.

The focus of the market place remains on the “fiscal cliff” that is fast approaching. U.S. lawmakers are still jousting on the matter, with not much new on Monday. The market place presently perceives there will be a last-minute agreement among U.S. lawmakers to avoid the fiscal cliff.

FOMC will meet next week having it last Federal Reserve meeting of the year, on December 10 and 11. The “Operation Twist” program ends and the FOMC members must decide whether to extend the bond-buying program. Many believe the Fed will continue to purchase U.S. Treasuries and implement “QE4” at next week's meeting.

On the economic front from US yesterday, business among U.S. manufacturers contracted in November and activity fell to the lowest level since July 2009, according to the closely followed ISM index. The Institute for Supply Management’s index fell to 49.5% from 51.7% in October. U.S. construction spending, however, jumped 1.4% in October.

MCX December crude oil futures may open today’s session near Rs 4870 levels with support around Rs 4840 levels.

Crude Oil Silver Free Trial

The dollar index, which weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, rose by 0.2% on Tuesday. The Euro currency also was initially supported on the Greece news but could not hold those gains as the day wore on.
In today's economic news at Wall Street, Consumer confidence rose in November to its best reading in more than four years. The latest consumer confidence reading for November came in at 73.7, while market expected a reading of 73.0. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to 73.7 in November from 73.1 in October. That's above the 72.2 level forecast. The October reading was upwardly revised from 72.2.
Separately, the September Housing Price Index from the FHFA increased by 1.1%, which follows a 0.7% increase observed during the prior month. Also, the September Case-Shiller 20-city Home Price Index rose by 3.0%, while a 3.1% increase had been expected. This followed the previous month's increase of 2.0%.
Durable goods orders were unchanged in October, which was better than the 0.4% decrease that had been expected. Excluding transportation related items, durable goods orders increased in October by 1.5%, which was better than the 0.4% decrease that had been broadly anticipated. Prior month's reading was revised down to reflect an increase of 1.7%.
Traders and investors are also focused on the negotiations among U.S. lawmakers and President Obama regarding the so-called “fiscal cliff” tax increases and spending cuts that are approaching.
At the MCX, gold prices for February delivery closed lower by Rs 149 (0.45%) at Rs 32,594 per ten grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 32,825 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 32,550 per 10 grams during the day's trading.
At the MCX, silver prices for December delivery closed lower by Rs 198 (0.31%) at Rs 63,536/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 63,877/kg and fell to a low of Rs 63,361/Kg during the day's trading.

Crude Oil Silver Free Trial

Bullion metals ended lower at Comex on Tuesday, 27 November 2012. Gold prices ended lower for second straight day as the dollar headed up and a sort of debt deal was reached at Greece. Upbeat US data also took some shine away.

Gold for December delivery fell $7.3 (0.4%) to settle at $1,742.3 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, December silver fell 16 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $33.98 an ounce.

In overnight trading, the European stock markets rallied only modestly on news that Euro zone leaders meeting in Brussels agreed late Monday to disburse fresh bailout funds to cash-starved Greece. Most market watchers had reckoned EU leaders would grant new monies to Greece. The world market place showed no significant reaction to the as-expected news on Greece.

A meeting to discuss Greece's finances wrapped up early Tuesday with Greece's institutional lenders reaching a deal to pave the way for Athens to receive almost 44 billion euros (almost $57 billion) of financial aid, while bringing its debt down to a sustainable level. The deal is expected to trigger another aid payment for the debt-struck country.

A heavy slate of U.S. economic data released Tuesday did show generally better-than-expected readings overall, and that put modest upside pressure on the U.S. dollar index, which in turn helped push gold and silver prices to their daily lows.

The dollar index, which weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, rose by 0.2% on Tuesday. The Euro currency also was initially supported on the Greece news but could not hold those gains as the day wore on.

In today's economic news at Wall Street, Consumer confidence rose in November to its best reading in more than four years. The latest consumer confidence reading for November came in at 73.7, while market expected a reading of 73.0. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to 73.7 in November from 73.1 in October. That's above the 72.2 level forecast. The October reading was upwardly revised from 72.2.

Separately, the September Housing Price Index from the FHFA increased by 1.1%, which follows a 0.7% increase observed during the prior month. Also, the September Case-Shiller 20-city Home Price Index rose by 3.0%, while a 3.1% increase had been expected. This followed the previous month's increase of 2.0%.

Durable goods orders were unchanged in October, which was better than the 0.4% decrease that had been expected. Excluding transportation related items, durable goods orders increased in October by 1.5%, which was better than the 0.4% decrease that had been broadly anticipated. Prior month's reading was revised down to reflect an increase of 1.7%.

Traders and investors are also focused on the negotiations among U.S. lawmakers and President Obama regarding the so-called “fiscal cliff” tax increases and spending cuts that are approaching.

At the MCX, gold prices for February delivery closed lower by Rs 149 (0.45%) at Rs 32,594 per ten grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 32,825 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 32,550 per 10 grams during the day's trading.

At the MCX, silver prices for December delivery closed lower by Rs 198 (0.31%) at Rs 63,536/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 63,877/kg and fell to a low of Rs 63,361/Kg during the day's trading.

Crude Oil Silver Free Trial

Crude oil futures inched up in Asia electronic session today after tumbling hard recently on strong US dollar. It also gained today as Israel and Hamas had yet to reach a cease-fire, and as data showed an unexpected slide in crude inventories.

The more closely watched U.S. Energy Information Administration report was due out Wednesday, with analysts polled by Platts expecting a 1 million-barrel increase in crude-oil stocks.

The American Petroleum Institute reported a surprise decrease for oil inventories, saying that crude supplies fell 1.9 million barrels for the week ended Nov. 16.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil for January delivery is trading up 9 cents, at $86.84 a barrel in Asia electronic trades on New York Mercantile Exchange today. Yesterday, it tumbled nearly 3% as hopes for a Gaza Strip cease-fire relieved some of the concerns over supply risks in the Middle East.

Euro-zone finance ministers on Wednesday failed to reach an agreement on conditions to release the next tranche of financial aid for Greece and plan to meet again on Monday to continue the discussions.

"The Eurogroup interrupted its meeting to allow for further technical work on some elements of this package," Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement, referring to a package aimed at making a "substantial contribution to the sustainability of Greek government debt."

MCX December crude oil futures are trading up nearly Rs 20 at Rs 4824 levels. It may face a resistance near Rs 4845 levels.

Crude Oil Tips

Crude oil futures headed towards $86 a barrel in Asia electronic trades today as the demand concerns washed away post the super storm hurricane.

Light sweet crude futures for delivery in December are trading up 10 cents at $ 85.78 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Yesterday, New York-traded oil prices rose by as much as 0.8% earlier in the session to hit a daily high of $86.24 a barrel. On Monday, futures fell to $84.70 a barrel, the weakest level since July 12.

Sandy’s storm surge neared 14 feet, driving water into the still-open construction pit at the World Trade Center and flooding parts of the New York subway system. President Barack Obama declared a major disaster in New York and Long Island.

Asian shares advanced on Wednesday, with investors eyeing local earnings results and the impact from super storm Sandy in the U.S. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average advanced 1% after losing 1% in the previous session. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.7%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index also gained 0.7%. In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.6%, but the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.2%.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said it will postpone the release of its weekly report on oil stockpiles from Wednesday due to storm-related delays. The data may be published November 1, according to the EIA.

Elsewhere, in the euro zone, sentiment firmed up after official data showed that the Spanish economy contracted by 0.3% in the third quarter, compared to expectations for a 0.4% contraction. The data came a day after Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said that he would request a bailout "when I think it is in the interests of Spain".

A bailout would allow the European Central Bank to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt, which would result in reduced borrowing costs for the debt-strapped nation. But Spain has been reluctant to do so because it may come with conditions on its budget. Also Tuesday, Italy’s Treasury sold EUR3 billion worth of debt maturing in November 2022 at an average yield of 4.92%, the lowest level since May 2011 down from 5.24% at a similar auction last month.

MCX November crude oil futures may open today’s session near Rs 4660 levels with resistance near Rs 4690 levels.

Crude Oil Future News

Crude oil is trading in a positive manner today, bouncing off its three month lows on bargain hunting and weakness in US dollar. WTI Crude oil futures had slipped amid thin trading today to test levels near $85 per barrel as Sandy, one of the biggest storms ever to hit the United States, shut East Coast refineries, roads and airports, reducing crude and fuel products demand in US. The WTI futures, however, recovered from these levels and soared in European trades as British Petroleum (BP), Europe's second-biggest oil company, raised its dividend as third-quarter profit beat analysts' estimates. The commodity quotes at $85.99, up 45 cents per barrel on the day.

However, the economic data in Europe was grim. German jobless rate increased for the first time in three years as the sovereign debt crisis damped economic growth and investment. The number of people out of work climbed a seasonally adjusted 20,000 from September to 2.94 million, the Federal Labor Agency in Nuremberg said today. The adjusted unemployment rate jumped from a two-decade low of 6.8%in August to a revised 6.9% in September and stood at the same level in October.

Earlier in the day, the Bank Of Japan (BOJ) increased the size of its asset purchase program by JPY11 trillion at today's policy meeting, amid concerns over the deteriorating economic outlook and growing political pressure to step up measures to combat deflation. In a joint statement with the central bank, Economics Minister Seiji Maehara said the new measures were an important step towards defeating deflation. However, these measures were a little less than what the markets were expecting after last week's announcement of a stimulus package by the government-fueled expectations of even more aggressive steps.

Spain's economy contracted for a fifth quarter, notwithstanding efforts to plug the budget deficit that's pushing the nation closer to a bailout, while austerity measures kept inflation at a 17-month high. Gross domestic product dropped 0.3% in the three months through September and 1.6% from a year earlier, the National Statistics Institute said today.

BP noted that refining margins improved in the third quarter. BP's refining marker margin, a generic measure of global profitability, rose to $19.50 a barrel in the period from $15.84 in the three months through June. It also said that third-quarter production, excluding the Russian TNK-BP venture, dropped 3% to 2.26 million barrels of oil equivalent a day.

The activity in the world markets is rather thin as the major US markets were closed overnight and will remain closed tonight as the US east coast deals with the impact of superstorm Sandy. The gains in WTI futures in electronic moves led to a steady pickup in local futures as well and the MCX November contract gained from a low of Rs 4625 per barrel. The counter quotes at Rs 4673 per barrel right now, up Rs 25 per barrel on the day.

Crude Oil Updates

MCX Crude oil futures are trading in green today, witnessing some fresh buying but a cautious undertone in global prices kept the gains limited. Bulk of the rise was due to the weakness in the Indian rupee for the MCX futures. The stocks fell in Asia and Europe and the US dollar also maintained a firm tone. WTI Crude oil futures are quoting at $92.30, down 8 cents per barrel on the day.

Asian shares fell today, with Japan's stocks slipping nearly 2% to a two-month low, and the safe-haven dollar firmed on concerns that the corporate results season will reveal weaker earnings. The US dollar consolidated under 1.2900 levels against the Euro today; rising for a third straight sessions amid a continued sell off in the world markets following worries over global economic outlook.

The dollar was also aided by fresh worries about Spanish economy. The Eurozone debt struggle continues despite the formal launch of the new bailout facility - the ESM yesterday. The Bank of Spain Chief Economist Malo de Molina stated today that Spanish debt adjustment is proving slow and the country faces risks. He also noted that Spainish government growth forecast is optimistic.

European shares fell for the third day running today, while the euro and Spanish and Italian bonds came under fresh pressure. The International Monetary Fund said in its semi-annual outlook yesterday the euro area's debt crisis was the main threat and the risks to global financial stability had risen in the last six months, leaving confidence very fragile.

The WTI Crude futures had gained yesterday night, recording a massive rise of more than three dollars as escalating tensions between Syria and Turkey triggered worries that about 400000 barrels a day of oil which is shipped to Turkey from Iraq's northern Kurdistan region.

WTI futures are down from highs near $93 and there are signs that a weak open on the Wall Street could hurt the commodity. The MCX futures stayed positive though, hitting highs above Rs 4900 per barrel as the Indian Rupee dropped nearly 50 paise against the US dollar. The local stocks dropped and Rupee was hammered as global rating agency S&P remarked that India still faces a one-in-three chance of a credit rating downgrade within the next 24 months. MCX Crude is at Rs 4903, up Rs 13 per barrel on the day with 1.80% increase in the open interest.