Copper falls to 7-week low after China PMI data

           Copper futures fell to a seven-week low on Thursday, after data confirmed a contraction in China’s manufacturing sector and following the Federal Reserve’s decision to taper its monthly bond-buying program by USD10 billion for the second consecutive meeting.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for March delivery fell to a session low of USD3.231 a pound, the weakest since December 9, before trimming losses to trade at USD3.235 during European morning hours, down 0.15%. 

The March copper contract settled down 0.38% on Wednesday to end at USD3.240 a pound. Copper futures were likely to find support at USD3.217 a pound, the low from December 6 and resistance at USD3.269 a pound, the high from January 29.

China’s final HSBC Purchasing Managers Index released earlier fell to a six-month low of 49.5 in January, down from a preliminary reading of 49.6 and compared to 50.5 in December.

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

Meanwhile, the Fed said Wednesday that it would reduce its monthly bond buying program by USD10 billion to a total of USD65 billion a month, in a widely anticipated decision.

The U.S. central bank said growth signals are encouraging, and the unemployment market shows improvement "on balance".

The Fed left unchanged its statement that interest rates are likely to remain low even after the unemployment rate drops below 6.5%, the threshold at which the central bank has previously said it would start to consider rate increases.

The Fed added it will keep a close eye on economic indicators before deciding to wind down its stimulus program even further.

The U.S. is to publish preliminary data on fourth quarter economic growth. The nation is also to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims and data on pending home sales.

Market players continued to monitor liquidity conditions in emerging markets, such as Turkey and South Africa. 

Emerging markets economies have been hard hit in recent sessions by worries over the impact of cuts in Fed stimulus and concerns over a possible slowdown in China.

Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for April delivery fell 0.6% to trade at USD1,254.50 a troy ounce, while silver for March delivery declined 0.85% to trade at USD19.39 a troy ounce. - investing.com

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Silver falls to 4-week low after Fed tapers stimulus

             Silver futures fell to a four-week low on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve announced that it will taper its bond-buying program by USD10 billion a month.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, silver futures for March delivery fell to a session low of USD19.28 a troy ounce, the weakest since December 31, before trimming losses to trade at USD19.39 during European morning hours, down 0.8%.

The March contract settled 0.25% higher on Wednesday to end at USD19.55 an ounce. Silver futures were likely to find support at USD19.13 a troy ounce, the low from December 20 and resistance at USD19.96, the high from January 29.

Meanwhile, gold for April delivery traded at USD1,257.00 a troy ounce, down 0.4%.

The Fed said Wednesday that it would reduce its monthly bond buying program by USD10 billion to a total of USD65 billion a month, in a widely anticipated decision.

The U.S. central bank said growth signals are encouraging, and the unemployment market shows improvement "on balance".

The Fed left unchanged its statement that interest rates are likely to remain low even after the unemployment rate drops below 6.5%, the threshold at which the central bank has previously said it would start to consider rate increases.

The Fed added it will keep a close eye on economic indicators before deciding to wind down its stimulus program even further.

The U.S. is to publish preliminary data on fourth quarter economic growth. The nation is also to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims and data on pending home sales.

Elsewhere on the Comex, copper futures for March delivery inched up 0.1% to trade at USD3.244 a pound. Copper prices slumped to a seven-week low of USD3.231 a pound earlier after data confirmed a contraction in China’s manufacturing sector.

China’s final HSBC Purchasing Managers Index released earlier fell to a six-month low of 49.5 in January from a preliminary reading of 49.6 and down from 50.5 in December.

China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year - Investing.com

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WTI oil futures inch higher ahead of U.S. GDP data

                   U.S. oil futures edged higher on Thursday, as investors looked ahead to upcoming U.S. economic data to gauge the strength of the world’s largest oil consuming nation.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in March traded in a range between USD97.35 a barrel and USD97.67 a barrel.

Nymex oil prices were last trading at USD97.59 a barrel during European morning hours, up 0.25%.

WTI oil prices settled 0.05% lower on Wednesday to end at USD97.36 a barrel. Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at USD95.63 a barrel, the low from January 28 and resistance at USD97.80 a barrel, the high from January 24.

The U.S. is to publish preliminary data on fourth quarter economic growth. The nation is also to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims and data on pending home sales.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said that it would reduce its monthly bond buying program by USD10 billion to a total of USD65 billion a month, in a widely anticipated decision.

The central bank added it will keep a close eye on economic indicators before deciding to wind down its stimulus program even further.

Oil traders shrugged off data confirming a contraction in China’s manufacturing sector. China’s final HSBC Purchasing Managers Index released earlier fell to a six-month low of 49.5 in January from a preliminary reading of 49.6 and down from 50.5 in December.

Meanwhile, market players continued to monitor liquidity conditions in emerging markets, such as Turkey and South Africa. 

Emerging markets economies have been hard hit in recent sessions by worries over the impact of cuts in Fed stimulus and concerns over a possible slowdown in China.

Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for March delivery inched up 0.1% to trade at USD107.94 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at USD10.35 a barrel.  -  Investing.com
 
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Gold edges lower after Fed tapers by USD10 billion

               Gold prices edged lower on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve announced that it will taper its bond-buying program to USD65 billion a month following its policy meeting.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery fell to a session low of USD1,255.40 a troy ounce, before trimming losses to trade at USD1,256.90 during European morning hours, down 0.4%.

The April contract rallied 0.94% on Wednesday to settle at USD1,262.20 an ounce as ongoing turbulence in emerging markets saw investors flee riskier assets and move in to safe-havens.

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,248.00 a troy ounce, the low from January 28 and resistance at USD1,280.10, the high from January 27.

The Fed said Wednesday that it would reduce its monthly bond buying program by USD10 billion to a total of USD65 billion a month, in a widely anticipated decision.

The U.S. central bank said growth signals are encouraging, and the unemployment market shows improvement "on balance".

The Fed left unchanged its statement that interest rates are likely to remain low even after the unemployment rate drops below 6.5%, the threshold at which the central bank has previously said it would start to consider rate increases.

The Fed added it will keep a close eye on economic indicators before deciding to wind down its stimulus program even further.

The U.S. is to publish preliminary data on fourth quarter economic growth. The nation is also to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims and data on pending home sales.

Meanwhile, silver for March delivery fell to USD19.28 a troy ounce, the weakest level since December 31, before paring losses to trade at USD19.37 during early European hours. 

Elsewhere on the Comex, copper futures for March delivery fell 0.2% to trade at USD3.235 a pound, the lowest since December 9.

Data released earlier showed that China’s final HSBC Purchasing Managers Index fell to a six-month low of 49.5 in January from a preliminary reading of 49.6 and down from 50.5 in December.

China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year. - Investing.com

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