Technical Buying At the Beginning of Third Quarter Brings Cheer In Copper

Copper.......
Copper cheered on Monday and continued to move higher on Tuesday as the technical buying supported the metals. Almost all the metals posted gains as bottom fishing acted as a savior. Till the end of second quarter, Copper upside remained capped by concerns over tight liquidity in China that could weigh on demand.
Copper leapt 3.4% from Friday's close to $6,978 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange late in the day, building on earlier gains over supply concerns. It led a rally in all base metals, as a technical recovery compensated for a sell-off in recent weeks after European and U.S. manufacturing index data came in a bit stronger.
Copper's gains were due in part to uncertainties over how soon the Mongolian government will allow Rio Tinto to start shipping copper concentrates from its major new Oyu Tolgoi mine project, which is already in an advanced ramp-up stage and has its permits.
Eurostat said consumer price inflation rose by a seasonally adjusted 1.6% in June, in line with forecasts and up from May's 1.4% reading. The rate stands below the European Central Bank's target of near but just below 2%.
In another report, Eurostat said that the euro zone's unemployment rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 12.1% in May, from April's reading of 12%.
Meanwhile, US Institute for Supply Management said its index of purchasing managers rose to 50.9 in June from a reading of 49.0 in May.
LME three month forward prices of Copper ended at $ 6918 per tonne. The prices were last seen trading at $ 6952 per tonne. Meanwhile, MCX Copper closed at Rs 417.1 per kg, up 2.5 percent. The prices are resisted at Rs 420 per kg, while support is at Rs 415 per kg.
Source by Commodity Insights

MCX Gold Stays Lower As Rupee Gains

Gold.......
MCX gold futures are trading lower in the European electronic trades today pressurized by gains in the Indian Rupee against the US Dollar. On the economic front later today investors will assess manufacturing activity reports from the euro zone and the U.S.
MCX August bullion futures are trading down nearly Rs 40 at Rs 25628 per 10 grams. A break of Rs 26690 levels is required to move in the bullish zone with resistance near Rs 25800 levels.
The rupee today rose by 10 paise to 59.29 against the dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on increased selling of the US currency by exporters. Strengthening of the euro against the dollar in overseas market and a better trend in the domestic equity market also supported the rupee, forex dealers said.
The rupee had rose by a staggering 80 paise, its biggest single-day gain in last nine months, to close at 59.39 amid signs of strong fund inflows on Friday. Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex rose by nearly 140 points to 19,533.
Gold for August delivery rose $16.8 to $1,240.5 an ounce in electronic trade. The precious metal on Friday closed the second quarter with loss of 23%, the worst quarterly decline since modern trading began in the mid-1970s.
Separate reports released Monday showed further slowing in China’s manufacturing sector in June. China is a major consumer of gold.
The Chinese government reported its manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 50.1 from 50.8 in May. A separate survey from HSBC showed its own monthly PMI declining to 48.2 in June from 49.2 in May. A reading below 50 shows deterioration in activity, while one above signals an improvement.
Source by Commodity Insights

Indian Rupee Edges Lower

The Indian rupee edged lower on Monday, July 01, 2013 driven mainly by dollar demand by oil marketing companies and banks. The currency however managed to register a small rebound as strength in the local share market aided some gains in the unit. The domestic currency commenced weaker by 9 paise at Rs 59.47 to a dollar and edged down to a low of 59.48 before bouncing back to a high of 59.22 so far during the day. In the spot currency market, the Indian unit was last seen trading at 59.25, lower by around 14 paise or 0.23% as compared to its previous close at 59.39.
Domestic key benchmark indices moved into positive after a lower start triggered by weak Asian stocks. Asian stocks got off to an uninspired start to the week, while the U.S. dollar held firm at one-month highs after an influential Federal Reserve official suggested September could be the beginning of the end of easy money from the central bank.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought Indian shares worth a net Rs 1124.31 crore on Friday, 28 June 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. At the time of writing, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 14.72 points or 0.08% to 19,410.53 while the CNX Nifty was up 2 points or 0.03% to 5,844.20.
The dollar was holding broadly firm on Monday after a flood of month-end flows left it well positioned for a week packed with major economic data and central bank meetings.
Source by Commodity Insights

Oil Slips As China Manufacturing Weakens

Oil........
Crude oil futures slipped below $97 a barrel in the Asia electronic session today as a further slowdown in manufacturing activity in China raised demand concerns from the world's second-largest oil consumer.
Asian markets on Monday began a new quarter on a weak footing as a further slowdown in manufacturing activity in China, South Korea and Taiwan raised concerns about the health of those economies.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 tumbled 1.6% as the country began a new financial year. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gave up 0.5%, South Korea's Kospi lost 0.2%, and Taiwan's Taiex shed 0.3%. China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.4% in choppy trading, resuming its downtrend after snapping a seven-day losing streak on Friday. Hong Kong markets were closed for a holiday.
The day's broad losses came as two separate surveys in China showed a further loss of momentum in factory activity. An officially sponsored reading of the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for June dropped to 50.1 from 50.8 in May. Another survey by HSBC showed the monthly PMI falling to 48.2 in June from 49.2 in May.
Light sweet crude futures for delivery in August are trading down 20 cents at $ 96.36 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil futures rose 2.65% on the week. For the quarter, however, oil declined nearly 1%, as a combination of concerns over an end to the Fed's assets purchase program and fears over a deepening slowdown in China weighed.
Oil prices hit a session high of $97.82 a barrel on Friday, the strongest level since June 20, as a series of upbeat U.S. data releases during the week boosted optimism over the U.S. economic recovery.
MCX July crude oil futures may open today's session near Rs 5740 levels with support around Rs 5700 levels.
Oil traders now look ahead to this week's highly-anticipated U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for indications of how the recovery in the U.S. labor market is progressing. Any improvement in the U.S. economy was likely to reinforce the view that the Federal Reserve will begin to taper its bond purchase program in the coming months.
Source by Commodity Insights

Gold Starts July In Good Mood

Gold......
Gold futures began the month of July in a good mood after losing more than $200 to the low of $1179.4 an ounce triggered by growing expectations the Federal Reserve will begin to taper off its bond-buying program by the end of this year. The weakness in Asian equities is also providing some boost to the yellow metal.
Asian markets on Monday began a new quarter on a weak footing as a further slowdown in manufacturing activity in China, South Korea and Taiwan raised concerns about the health of those economies.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 tumbled 1.6% as the country began a new financial year. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average gave up 0.5%, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.2%, and Taiwan’s Taiex shed 0.3%. China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 0.4% in choppy trading, resuming its downtrend after snapping a seven-day losing streak on Friday. Hong Kong markets were closed for a holiday.
Gold futures for August delivery are trading up $ 17 at $ 1241 per ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal may find support near $1180 levels- nearly 3 year low level with resistance near $1215 levels. Gold lost 4.8% on the week.
For the quarter, the precious metal declined nearly 23%, the largest quarterly loss on record, amid speculation the Fed will start to unwind its bond purchasing program in the coming months. Gold prices are on track to post a loss of 27% on the year, the worst yearly decline since 1981, after rising in each of the past 12 years.
In the last fortnight prices have dropped by nearly 15% – the steepest fall in 30 years – on persistent worries over the U.S. Federal Reserve's plan to wind down its monetary stimulus. Gold is used by investors as a hedging bet against rising inflation, but fears of a reduction in QE are damping concerns of higher prices because less central bank cash will ultimately flow into financial institutions.
MCX August gold futures may open today’s session near Rs 25700 levels with resistance near Rs 25800 levels.
Gold traders now looked ahead to Friday’s highly-anticipated U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for indications of how the recovery in the U.S. labor market is progressing. Any improvement in the U.S. economy could scale back expectations for further easing, putting upward pressure on U.S. yields and boosting the dollar.
Source by Commodity Insights

Gold Plummets Under $1200

Gold.....

MCX Gold futures dropped under Rs 25000 per 10-gram levels as the meltdown in the metal continued. The global prices tested their fresh three year lows and looked headed for further losses as $1200 per ounce mark gave up. Global markets were mixed but Gold continued to ease. The COMEX Gold futures gave up after a failed attempt to stay above $1200 in Asia and currently trades at $1193.40, down nearly 20 dollars on the day.

Euro gained from its three week low against the US dollar today as supportive data boosted the sentiments for the single currency. German retail sales were better than expected in May, as consumers returned to the shops after being kept away for months by the cold and rainy weather, data from the Federal Statistics Office showed Friday. Retail sales in May increased 0.8% from April, following three consecutive months of declines, beating economists' forecasts of a 0.3% drop in sales. The data are inflation-adjusted and also consider calendar effects.

The rise in sales comes as a robust labor market and buoyant consumer confidence boost households' spending prospects. German jobless claims in June dropped 12,000 on the month in seasonally adjusted terms, pushing down unemployment to its lowest level since December 2012, data from the country's BA labor agency showed Thursday. German consumer sentiment, meanwhile, is close to a six-month high, according to the GfK research institute.

The MCX Gold futures for August are quoting at Rs 24862, down around 25 on the day a massive rise of 10 % in open interest.
Source by Commodity Insights

Oil Rallies In Tandem With Equities

Oil........

Crude oil futures rallied to one week highs above $97 a barrel boosted by gains in equities and the positive data releases from US.
Japanese stocks shot higher Friday, as an overnight advance on Wall Street and a weakened yen combined with upbeat industrial-production data to lift sentiment, while other Asian markets also saw gains.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average jumped another 3.3% on top of Thursday’s 3% rally, recording a climb of more than 30% in the first half of 2013. The broader Topix improved by 3.2%, as the U.S. dollar advanced toward the ¥99-handle, with analysts eyeing further weakness for Japan’s currency.
Light sweet crude futures for delivery in August are trading up 7 cents at $ 97.14 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose to one-week high on Thursday, after official data showed that U.S. jobless claims declined last week while consumer spending increased last month.
The data came after the Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell by 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 346,000, compared to expectations for a drop of 10,000 to 345,000.
A separate report showed that U.S. personal spending was up 0.3% in May, in line with expectations. The data also showed personal income increased 0.5%, above expectations for a 0.2% increase.
Investors had scaled back expectations that the Federal Reserve will start tapering bond purchases this year following a downward revision to U.S. first quarter growth on Wednesday.
The Fed’s stimulus program is viewed by many investors as a key driver in boosting the price of commodities as it tends to depress the value of the dollar.
Meanwhile, oil prices drew further support after official data showed that profits at China’s industrial companies jumped 15.5% in May from a year earlier, higher than April’s 9.3% gain. Market sentiment received a further boost amid improvement in China’s strained money markets.
MCX July crude oil futures may open today’s session near Rs 5855 levels with resistance near Rs 5890 levels.
Source by Commodity Insights