Gold prices took another leg lower as risk-on trading conditions translated into higher Treasury bond yields, tarnishing the appeal of non-interest-bearing assets epitomized by the yellow metal. Upbeat cues from stock index futures hint at more of the same ahead but significant directional follow-through seems unlikely before the much-anticipated FOMC policy announcement due on Wednesday. Crude oil prices continued to correct higher. The swell in risk appetite probably helped, with the WTI benchmark tracking the S&P 500 upward. News that flows in the Forties Pipeline System continues to run about a third of capacity (approximately ...
Majority of Asian indices are lower today as Chinese and Hong Kong shares fall. The Shanghai Composite is off 0.41% while the Hang Seng is down 0.05%. The Nikkei 225 is trading up by 0.02%. US stocks closed higher on Monday as market participants prepared for an expected Federal Reserve rate hike later in the week, while stocks rose around the world on continued solid global economic growth indicators. Back home, India share markets have opened the day on a negative note ahead of November WPI data. The BSE Sensex is trading lower by 103 points while the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 27 points. The BSE Mid Cap index opened down b...
An absence of sellers ahead of the Fed’s (likely) rate hike increase, as well as a Tax Bill likely devoid of an FIFO capital gains tax sales provision, is (as projected) allowing the Senior Indexes to step up to new highs early in this trading week. That was anticipated and we sure didn’t fight it while noting that persistent discussions in the financial press about whether this is the ‘last days’ of the overall move and so on, actually mitigate against that being the case. Now whether or not this can stair-step into 2018 and persist with the rally, well, that’s a far different question. And it’s one we sus...
Oil prices have consistently been in the range of $45-$55 per barrel for the past one year. In November, the commodity’s price crossed $58. The crude price chart of oilprice.com shows that on Dec 8, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil traded at $58.35 per barrel, close to $59.05 — the highest since mid-2015. A number of factors have propelled this positivity. These include the OPEC-led production cut extension, lower inventory overhang, and rising demand. In spite of these aspects, it’s difficult for oil prices to reach 2014 levels. To avoid the repercussion of price slump it is necessary to use tools that give a steady flow of income, ...
It’s time again for our weekly gasoline update based on data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The price of Regular and Premium were down two and one cent(s), respectively, from last week. According to GasBuddy.com, Hawaii has the highest average price for Regular at $3.23 and Santa Barbara, CA is the most expensive city, averaging $3.32. Oklahoma has the cheapest at $2.14. The WTIC end of day spot price closed at 57.99, a 0.9% increase from this time last week. How far are we from the interim high prices of 2011 and the all-time highs of 2008? Here’s a visual answer. The next chart is a monthly chart overlay o...
Long-end bond yields are lower and the front-end higher once again this morning as the US Treasury yield curve continues to confound by flattening. Bloomberg macro strategist Mark Cudmore suspects there is more to come… for one simple reason, so often overlooked… Via Bloomberg, Cheaper eats are great, but maybe not if you’re one of the many expecting a sustainable bump in bond yields next year. Falling food prices risk wrecking the forecasts — seen pretty much every December for years now — for yields to climb in the new year. Ten-year Treasury rates haven’t closed a year above 2.45 percent since 2013. Bond bears ...
Mike Gleason: It is my privilege now to welcome in Michael Pento, President and founder of Pento Portfolio Strategies and author of the book, The Coming Bond Market Collapse: How to Survive the Demise of the U.S. Debt Market. Michael is a well-known and successful money manager and has been a regular guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business News, and also the Money Metals Podcast, and shares is astute insights on markets and geopolitics from the perspective of an Austrian School economist’s viewpoint. Michael, welcome back. Thanks for joining us again and, how are you? Michael Pento: I’m doing fine. Thanks for having me back on Mike...
Natural gas prices gapped up a couple percent last evening and held there through much of the day today, settling up just over 2% on the day. Yet prices were not able to continue higher from the gap, raising concerns for bulls that expected more of a recovery. The gap up was not a surprise to subscribers, as on Friday we alerted that there were more bullish than bearish long-range weather risks headed into the weekend, and that we expected model guidance to finally pick up more of them by Sunday evening. We then saw long-range cold risks as one of the key driving factors that supported prices today. The weather’s influence can best ...
It is indisputable that 2017 has been a challenging year in regards to natural disasters. Hurricane Harvey wrought more than $180 billion in damage to Texas, while Hurricane Maria cost upwards of $95 billion, according to some estimates. With California wildfires raging from north to south and Moody’s now factoring in climate change-related damages into its municipal bond stability forecasts, the stability of the reinsurance industry might now seem in question. But that does not appear to be an issue, according to a December report on insurance stability. After one of the worst quarters in reinsurance history, 2017 expected to be a largel...