Silver futures trade near one-month low on Fed stimulus outlook

                Silver prices traded near the previous session’s one-month low on Wednesday, as growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will start to scale back its stimulus program by the end of the year weighed on sentiment.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, silver futures for December delivery traded at USD20.78 a troy ounce during European morning trade, little changed on the day.

Comex silver prices traded in a range between USD20.62 a troy ounce, the daily low and a session high of USD20.81.

The December contract tumbled to USD20.56 a troy ounce on Tuesday, the lowest since October 15, before settling at USD20.77, down 2.37%.

Futures were likely to find support at USD20.50 a troy ounce, the low from October 15 and resistance at USD21.33, the high from November 12.

Tuesday’s losses came after Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said the central bank could begin to reduce the pace of its bond-buying program as soon as December. 

Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher also warned about a stimulus reduction, saying “at some point we will have to taper.”

Last week’s stronger than forecast U.S. nonfarm payrolls report prompted investors to bring forward expectations for a reduction in the Fed’s USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.

Investors were turning their attention to Thursday’s Senate hearing to confirm Janet Yellen as the first chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, for indications on the future course of U.S. monetary policy.

Silver futures are down approximately 30% this year on concerns the Fed will begin cutting back its easy-money policy sooner-than-expected.

Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for December delivery inched up 0.3% to trade at USD1,275.30 a troy ounce, while copper for December fell 1.2% to trade at USD3.195 a pound, the lowest since August 8. 

Copper traders were disappointed with the lack of concrete details on policy reforms announced at China's Third Plenum meeting, which concluded on Tuesday. 

Leaders pledged to let markets play a decisive role in the economy over the next decade, but no further details were provided.

The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year. - investing.com

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Copper plunges to 3-month low on China disappointment, Fed concerns

          Copper futures tumbled to the lowest level since August on Wednesday, after a top-level Communist Party meeting disappointed investors and amid growing speculation the Federal Reserve will begin tapering its asset purchase program at its December policy meeting.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for December delivery traded at USD3.191 a pound during European morning trade, down 1.35%. 

Comex copper prices fell to a session low of USD3.186 a pound earlier, the weakest level since August 8.

The December contract settled 0.78% lower on Tuesday to end at USD3.234 a pound.

Copper prices were likely to find support at USD3.174 a pound, the low from August 8 and resistance at USD3.258 a pound, the high from November 12.

Copper traders were disappointed with the lack of concrete details on policy reforms announced at China's Third Plenum meeting, which concluded on Tuesday. 

Leaders pledged to let markets play a decisive role in the economy over the next decade, but no further details were provided.

The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.

Meanwhile, growing speculation the Federal Reserve will begin tapering its asset purchase program at its December policy meeting also weighed.

Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said Tuesday that the central bank could begin to reduce the pace of its bond-buying program as soon as December. 

Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher also warned about a stimulus reduction, saying “at some point we will have to taper.”

Last week’s stronger than forecast U.S. nonfarm payrolls report prompted investors to bring forward expectations for a reduction in the Fed’s USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.

Investors were turning their attention to Thursday’s Senate hearing to confirm Janet Yellen as the first chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, for indications on the future course of U.S. monetary policy.

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.

Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for December delivery inched up 0.35% to trade at USD1,275.40 a troy ounce, while silver for December delivery was little changed to trade at USD20.77 a troy ounce. - investing.com

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Crude oil futures trade near 5-month low ahead of U.S. supply data

                 Crude oil futures traded near the previous session’s five-month low on Wednesday, as market players awaited key U.S. weekly supply data to gauge the strength of oil demand from the world’s largest consumer. 

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at USD93.32 a barrel during European morning trade, up 0.3%. 

New York-traded oil futures traded in a range between USD92.93 a barrel, the daily low and a session high of USD93.42 a barrel.

The December contract tumbled to USD92.86 a barrel on Tuesday, the lowest since June 24, before settling at USD93.04 a barrel, down 2.21%.

Oil futures were likely to find near-term support at USD92.73 a barrel, the low from June 24 and resistance at USD95.22 a barrel, the high from November 12.

Tuesday’s losses came after Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said the central bank could begin to reduce the pace of its bond-buying program as soon as December. 

Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher also warned about a stimulus reduction, saying “at some point we will have to taper.”

Last week’s stronger than forecast U.S. nonfarm payrolls report prompted investors to bring forward expectations for a reduction in the Fed’s USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.

Investors were turning their attention to Thursday’s Senate hearing to confirm Janet Yellen as the first chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, for indications on the future course of U.S. monetary policy.

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.

Oil traders also looked ahead to the release of fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products to gauge the strength of oil demand in the world’s largest oil consumer. 

The data comes out a day later than usual due to the Veterans Day holiday on Monday.

The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Thursday’s government report could show crude stockpiles rose by one million barrels.

Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 385.4 million barrels as of last week, the highest since June.

Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for December delivery rose 0.5% to trade at USD106.33 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD13.01 a barrel. - investing.com

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Gold rebounds from 4-week low on bargain buying, Fed taper fears remain

              Gold futures came off the previous session’s four-week low on Wednesday, as investors returned to the market to seek cheap valuations.

Gains were likely to remain limited amid growing speculation the Federal Reserve will begin tapering its asset purchase program at its December policy meeting. 

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,274.30 a troy ounce during European morning trade, up 0.25%. 

Comex gold prices traded in a range between USD1,265.10 a troy ounce, the daily low and a session high of USD1,276.40 a troy ounce.

The December contract tumbled to USD1,260.50 a troy ounce on Tuesday, the lowest since October 15, before settling at USD1,271.20, down 0.77%.

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,251.10 a troy ounce, the low from October 15 and resistance at USD1,287.70, the high from November 11.

Tuesday’s losses came after Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said the central bank could begin to reduce the pace of its bond-buying program as soon as December. 

Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher also warned about a stimulus reduction, saying “at some point we will have to taper.”

Speculation that the Fed may start to taper its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program as soon as next month mounted after official data last week showed that the U.S. economy added 204,000 jobs in October, much more than the 125,000 increase forecast by economists. 

Investors were turning their attention to Thursday’s Senate hearing to confirm Janet Yellen as the first chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, for indications on the future course of U.S. monetary policy.

Gold prices are down approximately 25% this year on concerns the Fed will begin to scale back its stimulus sooner than expected.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery inched up 0.1% to trade at USD20.79 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery tumbled 1% to trade at USD3.201 a pound, the lowest since September 17.

Copper traders were disappointed with the lack of concrete details on policy reforms announced at China's Third Plenum meeting, which concluded on Tuesday. 

Leaders pledged to let markets play a decisive role in the economy over the next decade, but no further details were provided.

The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year. - investing.com

Read More