Gold rises slightly despite tapering concerns

              Gold futures traded slightly higher during Wednesday’s Asian session as traders did some bargain hunting with the yellow metal following a disappointing showing on Tuesday. 

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery rose 0.15% to USD1,310.00 per troy ounce in Asian trading Wednesday. The December contract settled lower by 0.50% at USD1,308.10 per ounce on Tuesday. 

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,305.80 a troy ounce, the earlier low, and resistance at USD1,322.10, Monday's high.

Although it was a slack day for U.S. equities, gold was pressured Tuesday following some economic data out of the world’s largest economy that had some traders thinking tapering of the Federal Reserve’s USD85 billion-per-month bond-buying program is closer than some would hope. 

In U.S. economic news out Tuesday, the Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 55.4 in October from 54.4 in September, beating forecasts for a 54.0 reading. Readings above 50 indicate expansion. 

The dollar got a lift on the news as tapering speculation rose. It is widely expected the dollar will rise when the Fed finally and formally announces it is paring its asset-buying efforts. 

Later this week, it is expected the Commerce Department will say the U.S. economy grew 2% in the third quarter following growth of 2.5% in the second quarter. On Friday, the Labor Department delivers the October non-farm payroll report, which will also have gold in focus. 

Elsewhere, Comex silver for December delivery rose 0.08% to USD21.653 per ounce while copper for December delivery lost 0.19% to USD3.255 an ounce. - investing.com

Read More

Natural gains as weather forecasts call for East Coast cool snap

                     Natural gas prices rose on Tuesday after updated weather forecasting models called for below-normal temperatures across portions of the eastern half of the U.S. next week.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in December traded at USD3.464 per million British thermal units during U.S. trading, up 0.55%. 

The commodity hit a session low of USD3.381 and a high of USD3.473.

The December contract settled down 1.94% at USD3.445 per million British thermal units on Monday.

Futures were likely to find support at USD3.381 per million British thermal units, the earlier low, and resistance at USD3.869, the high from Oct. 16.

Updated weather forecasting models have called for normal to above-normal temperatures for much of the eastern U.S. through mid-November in recent days, though on Monday, many saw a cool snap settling in for several days before moderating around Nov. 9, which sent prices gaining on Tuesday.

Cooler temperatures hike the need for heating this time of year, boosting demand for natural gas at the nation's thermal power generators.

Inventory data released on Thursday also pressured prices lower.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Thursday that natural gas storage in the U.S. rose by 38 billion cubic feet during the week before last.

Inventories rose by 66 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change for the week is a build of 57 billion cubic feet.

Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.779 trillion cubic feet as last week, 3.1% below last year's unusually high level but 1.6% above the five-year average for this time of year.

Early injection estimates for this week’s storage data range from 33 billion cubic feet to 45 billion cubic feet, compared to a 27 billion cubic feet increase during the same week a year earlier.

The five-year average for the week is a build of 36 billion cubic feet.

Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in December were down 1.37% and trading at USD93.32 a barrel, while heating oil for December delivery were down 0.32% and trading at USD2.8649 per gallon. - investing.com

Read More

Crude Oil rises on bargain hunting

              CrudeOil futures traded higher during Wednesday’s Asian session as traded did some bargain hunting with crude following some concerning inventories data. 

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for December delivery rose 0.41% to USD93.75 per barrel in Asian trading Wednesday. The December contract settled lower by 1.32% at USD93.02 per barrel on Tuesday. 

Oil futures came under pressure Tuesday after the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles rose by 1.8 million barrels, which sent prices falling on Tuesday. 

The inventories data had traders overlooking a decent economic data point out of the U.S., the world’s largest oil consumer. 

In U.S. economic news out Tuesday, the Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 55.4 in October from 54.4 in September, beating forecasts for a 54.0 reading. Readings above 50 indicate expansion. 

However, the ISM number sent the U.S. dollar high on speculation the U.S. economy is strengthening to the point where the Federal Reserve could consider tapering its USD85 billion-per-month asset-buying sooner than riskier assets would like to see. 

Brent prices were supported by news of a shooting in the Libyan capital of Tripoli Tuesday. Libya, an OPEC member and home to Africa’s largest oil reserves, has seen oil production tumble due to increase violence. 

Elsewhere, Brent futures for December delivery rose 0.37% to USD105.78 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange. - investing.com

Read More

Crude Oil Trades Below $95 As Gasoline Pump Prices Fall

                      Yesterday crude oil tumbled to its lowest point in four months and remains below $95.00 this morning. Oil gained 10 cents to trade at 94.73. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched gauge of business investment, declined a seasonally adjusted 3.7% in the period from July through September, according Commerce Department data released Monday. The decline reverses the better than 4% gain during the second quarter and stands in contrast to the sharp increase in capital expenditures during the early stages of the economic recovery. The Commerce Department will release its initial estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product on Thursday. Overall, Monday’s Commerce report showed total factory orders advanced 1.7% in September, propelled by demand for aircraft and military equipment. Orders contracted 0.1% in August. The two months of data were released simultaneously Monday as a result of the government shutdown. The August numbers were initially scheduled for release in early October. The factory orders report was the first of four releases to include two months of data at a time. The next is housing starts on Nov. 26.

Brent oil climbed 17 points to trade at 106.38 but remains weak as data shows increased production throughout the Middle East and lower demand. Geopolitical tensions continue to ease as Libya continues to increase production. Libya, North Africa’s largest oil producer, prepared to resume exports at two terminals, according to the state oil company. U.S. crude stockpiles are at the most in four months, and shipments from Iraq jumped in October, government reports showed last week. A tanker is scheduled to take on oil at Libya’s Mellitah terminal tomorrow and loading will probably resume next week at Hariga once vessels arrive at the eastern port, said Mohamed Elharari, a spokesman for state-run National Oil Corp. Production in the country has been reduced amid nationwide protests. Output was about 250,000 barrels yesterday, Elharari said. It averaged 450,000 barrels a day in October, according to a monthly Bloomberg survey of production across the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

This morning’s slight rise in prices was supported by some positive data. Traders welcomed data that showed euro-zone factory activity edged higher in October, thanks to modest strength in Germany and other northern economies. The Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for the currency bloc rose to 51.3 from 51.1 in September, above the 50 threshold that separates expansion from contraction. The reading was unchanged from an earlier estimate.

The price of gasoline at the pump for U.S. drivers fell to the lowest level of the year as wide spreads between U.S. and Brent have driven American refiners to produce more fuel than ever for this time of year. The average retail price fell 2.9 cents to $3.265 a gallon in the week ended today, the lowest level since Dec. 4, the Energy Information Administration reported on its website. Prices are 22.7 cents below a year earlier. U.S. refineries produced 9.434 million barrels a day of gasoline the week of Oct. 25, the highest seasonal level in weekly EIA data going back to 1982.  - fxempire

Read More