Gold futures ticker higher to start the new week
Gold futures traded slightly higher in the early part of Monday’s Asian session as traders are looking for the yellow metal to build on last week’s 1.25% increase, its best weekly run in about two months.
Gold prices tumbled 0.4% in last Friday’s U.S. session after traders glossed a spate of encouraging Chinese economic data points to focus more on concerning news out of the U.S. and the Eurozone.
In U.S. economic news, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan initial index of consumer sentiment for January fell to 71.3 from 72.9. Economists expected a preliminary reading of 75. The initial January reading is the lowest since December 2011.
Following downbeat news about Germany’s 2013 economic outlook earlier in the week, the Bank of Italy said Friday that the country’s economy would contract by 1% in 2013. Italy, the Eurozone’s third-largest economy and one of the world’s largest gold consumers, is already mired in a recession.
Gold prices tumbled 0.4% in last Friday’s U.S. session after traders glossed a spate of encouraging Chinese economic data points to focus more on concerning news out of the U.S. and the Eurozone.
In U.S. economic news, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan initial index of consumer sentiment for January fell to 71.3 from 72.9. Economists expected a preliminary reading of 75. The initial January reading is the lowest since December 2011.
Following downbeat news about Germany’s 2013 economic outlook earlier in the week, the Bank of Italy said Friday that the country’s economy would contract by 1% in 2013. Italy, the Eurozone’s third-largest economy and one of the world’s largest gold consumers, is already mired in a recession.
Oil slides ahead of European debt meeting
Oil futures declined in the early part of Monday’s Asian session as traders turn their attention to yet another European sovereign debt conference. European finance ministers will meet in Brussels later today to discuss options for debt-riddled Cyprus, Greece and Spain.
Natural gas futures - Weekly outlook: January 21 – 25
Natural gas futures ended Friday’s session at the highest level in six-weeks, as forecasts showing colder weather in the coming week boosted near-term demand expectations for the heating fuel.
Natural gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting forecasts on winter heating demand.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in February jumped 2.25% Friday to settle at USD3.572 per million British thermal units by close of trade.
On the week, natural gas prices surged 6.8%, the second consecutive weekly advance and the biggest weekly gain in two months.
The heating fuel has rallied nearly 15% since falling to a four-month low of USD3.087 per million British thermal units on January 9, boosted by calls for colder temperatures in major consuming regions across the U.S.
Updated weather forecasts released Friday continued to call for below-normal readings for most of the Eastern half of the U.S. in the next six-to-ten days, increasing near-term demand expectations for the heating fuel.
Bullish speculators are betting on the cool weather increasing winter demand for the heating fuel
Natural gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting forecasts on winter heating demand.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in February jumped 2.25% Friday to settle at USD3.572 per million British thermal units by close of trade.
On the week, natural gas prices surged 6.8%, the second consecutive weekly advance and the biggest weekly gain in two months.
The heating fuel has rallied nearly 15% since falling to a four-month low of USD3.087 per million British thermal units on January 9, boosted by calls for colder temperatures in major consuming regions across the U.S.
Updated weather forecasts released Friday continued to call for below-normal readings for most of the Eastern half of the U.S. in the next six-to-ten days, increasing near-term demand expectations for the heating fuel.
Bullish speculators are betting on the cool weather increasing winter demand for the heating fuel
No comments:
Post a Comment