Commodity Blog

Posts Tagged ‘commodity’

Sugar futures gained after Pakistan increased purchases. Other importers may follow Pakistan, increasing demand for the sweetener. May futures for raw-sugar delivery gained $0.0072 (3 percent) to $0.244 per pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York.

Wheat futures went up as the dollar’s decline boosted appeal of the U.S. commodities. The greenback fell 0.6 percent versus a basket of six major currencies today, supporting commodities. May futures for wheat delivery went up $0.08 (1.6 percent) to $5.1375 per bushel on CBoT.

Hog futures advanced as U.S. pork prices continued to rally, signaling that meat inventories are declining. Increasing U.S. exports may further lower pork supplies, spurring hogs price. April futures for hog settlement rose $0.009 (1.3 percent) to $0.7035 per pound on CME.

Copper slipped today on speculation that economic rebound in the U.S. may be slow. Uncertainty in future of the U.S. economy lowered consumer confidence, causing fewer purchases. Copper prices also slid as the rebounding dollar curbed the appeal of commodities as an inflation hedge. May futures for copper delivery fell $0.094 (2.8 percent) to $3.2345 per pound on the Comex Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Cocoa sunk to the lowest since September in New York on signals that large supplies will cut the price of the chocolate ingredient. Prices also dropped as the dollar gained 0.7 percent versus the euro. A rising dollar cut demand for some commodities as alternative assets. May futures for cocoa delivery slid $138 (4.5 percent) to $2,945 per ton on ICE.

Corn and wheat slid today on speculation that demand is shifting from U.S. grain. Lower quality of U.S. corn crop may result in business shifting to supplies from competing nations. May futures for corn delivery fell $0.0225 (0.6 percent) to $3.695 per bushel by 10:26 on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Cotton price reached the highest level since July 2008 on signs that the dollar will decline, increasing the demand for commodities as a hedge against inflation. The dollar dropped 0.2 percent versus a basket of six major currencies before rebounding. May futures for cotton delivery advanced $0.0037 (0.5 percent) to $0.7648 per pound as of 11:28 on ICE.

White sugar declined in London today as technicals signal that further drops may lie ahead. Prices also slid as the dollar rebounded, curbing appeal of commodities priced in U.S. currency. May delivery for white sugar slipped $10 (1.4 percent) to $704 per metric ton on the Liffe exchange.

Corn and soybeans gained today as farmers slowed sales after a price drop earlier this year. Drop in sales have led to decline of supplies for export and for producing fuel, animal feed and food. May futures for corn delivery added $0.0575 (1.5 percent) to $3.79 per bushel by 10:44 on the Chicago Board of Trade. March futures for soybean delivery rose $0.18 (1.9 percent) to $9.63 per bushel.

Cocoa futures dropped after the dollar gained, causing an equity decline and, as a result, the investment attractiveness of commodities to wane. Decline is also caused by concerns that jobless rate in the U.S. and rising debt in Europe will stall economic revival. Analysts say that “equities can very easily break cocoa”. May futures for cocoa delivery fell $55 (1.7 percent) to $3,125 per metric ton on ICE Futures U.S. in New York.

Coffee price tumbled to the four-month low. Analysts say that this drop caused by the dollar’s rebound, not fundamentals. The dollar’s advance may convince investors and funds to take money out of commodities. March futures for Arabica-coffee delivery waned $0.0145 (1.1 percent) to $1.3155 per pound today.

Sugar went down in New York to the two-week low as the dollar rebounded against the euro, curbing investment appeal of the commodity. The U.S. currency gained 1.2 percent versus the euro, putting commodities under pressure. Some analysts say that sugar will be traded in a range of $0.27–$0.29 in the next couple of months if it wouldn’t fall below $0.27 now. March futures for raw-sugar delivery slid $0.0062 (2.2 percent) to $0.28 per pound by 13:08 on ICE.

Cattle futures slid for the second time this week on speculation that demand for a beef has declined as wholesale prices rose in January to a highest level in seven months. Beef price touched the record level since May 27th at January 19th, causing retailers and importers to cut buying. Since January 19th beef has fallen 4.5 percent. April futures for cattle delivery slid $0.00625 (0.7 percent) to $0.8925 per pound by 9:39 on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Wheat futures tumbled in Chicago on forecast that dollar will advance, curbing the demand for U.S. grain as an alternative investment. The dollar rose 0.5 percent versus a basket of six major currencies today, the first gain this week. Some speculators may begin selling commodities which they purchased when dollar was weak. March futures for wheat delivery subtracted $0.0875 (1.8 percent) to $4.785 per bushel as of 9:59 on CBoT.

Wheat dropped to the weekly low on expectation that U.S. President’s plan to limit risk-taking by banks will cut investment in commodities, including U.S. grain. Barack Obama may announce further details of his plan to restrict proprietary trading or investing in hedge funds and private-equity funds. March futures for wheat delivery decreased $0.045 (1 percent) to $4.8925 per bushel as of 10:08 on CBoT.

Crude oil and gasoline tumbled to the lowest level in five weeks after the report that stockpiles of the motor fuel climbed to a 22-month high. Demand for fuel fell 2 percent compared to the previous year in the four weeks ended January 22nd. Gasoline consumption dropped 0.4 percent from the previous week. Refineries worked at 78.5 percent of capacity. March delivery for crude oil slid $1.05 (1.4 percent) to $73.66 per barrel by the 14:30 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold prices rose on expectation that the dollar will drop, spurring the demand for the precious metal as an inflation hedge. The U.S currency little changed versus a basket of six major currencies since it reached a five-month record on January 21st. Last week gold slid 3.6 percent, encouraging some investors to buy the commodity. February futures for gold delivery gained $6 (0.6 percent) to $1,095.70 per ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex unit.

Wheat futures tumbled in Chicago on speculation that growing global stockpiles will surpass demand for the grain. Analyst predict that global inventories may jump 19 percent to 195.6 million metric tons by the end of the marketing year on May 31st. Consumption is predicted to increase 0.7 percent to 644.5 million tons. December futures for wheat delivery dropped $0.0025 to $4.9825 per bushel on CBoT.

Crude oil tumbled to the lowest in a month in New York on speculation that China will raise interest rates and as equities slid after U.S. President proposed restrictions on risk-taking at financial institutions. Oil also slid this week as the dollar rose, curbing the demand for commodities as an inflation hedge and investor confidence decreased on declines in equity markets.

Fuel consumption in the U.S. fell 1.8 percent in the past four weeks compared to a previous year. Refineries ran at 78.4 percent of capacity in the U.S. last week, the lowest rate since 1989, barring the Atlantic hurricane season. Gasoline stockpiles rose 3.95 million barrels to 227.4 million last week, the record level since March 2008.

March delivery for crude oil dropped $1.17 (1.5 percent) to $74.91 per barrel by 10:15 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Some analysts think that there shouldn’t be any significant changes in the market in the next few days after decline. But there is probability that crude oil may decline next week as U.S. fuel consumption falls and refineries idle units.

Sugar dropped after the dollar gained, cutting appeal of some riskier assets. The greenback gained 0.7 percent versus a basket of six major currencies. The rising dollar puts some commodities under pressure. March futures for raw-sugar delivery slid $0.0014 (0.5 percent) to $0.2762 per pound as of 9:48 on ICE.

Hog futures reached the nine-months high as rising demand for the meat pushed the U.S. wholesale-pork prices to the record in 15 months. Wholesale pork climbed 8.4 percent to $0.7305 per pound yesterday, the highest level since October 2008. Analysts say that historical price patterns show the possibility for wholesale pork to reach $0.75 per pound before going down. April futures for hog settlement added $0.0065 (0.9 percent) to $0.734 per pound by 11:00 on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.