Gold higher ahead of U.S. jobs report

Gold futures are looking to end the week in strong fashion and are trading higher in the early of Friday’s Asian session ahead of the February non-farm payroll report due out from the U.S. Labor Department later today.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery rose 0.21% to USD1,578.40 per troy ounce in Asian trading Friday. The yellow metal settled up 0.01% at USD1,575.10 a troy ounce in U.S. trading onThursday.

Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,566.80 a troy ounce, Wednesday's low, and resistance at USD1,1619.40, the high from Feb. 26.

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Precious Metals Under Pressure As Equity Markets Soar

Precious metals prices rose yesterday, but the breakout in Wall Street stocks to new highs and data showing an improving U.S. economy pressurized the precious metal’s safe-haven appeal. The Fed’s Beige Book showed a slow recovery but a positive recovery was underway with an improvement in most sectors. The slowing factor was the “fiscal cliff” and the new payroll tax increases and all the political rhetoric from Washington, held back consumers and businesses. With most of this behind the economy is expected to pick up its pace of recovery. The ADP release yesterday showed that the economy had generated over 198,000 new jobs against estimates of 170,000. This gave a bump to the US dollar and held gold down as the good news on one front can be bad news for central bank speculators as it might push the central bank to lower or terminate its monetary stimulus program. This helped support the US dollar and kept gold on the weak side. Gold is holding at 1580.50 this morning adding a few dollars as traders take advantage of the weak price ahead of central bank decisions today.

Global central bankers are meeting today in Japan, England and Brussels and more stimulus or lower interest rates are expected. This afternoon’s press conference by Mario Draghi is expected to have major market effects.

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"Tug of war" in Gold as Asians buy physical and ETF investors sell

London Gold market report

U.S. dollar prices to buy gold hovered around $1575 per ounce Wednesday morning in London, in line with last week's close, as dealers in Asia reported an increase in demand for physical bullion, in contrast with exchange traded funds, which have continued to see selling, in what one analyst calls a "tug of war" between physical buying and ETF selling.

"Short-term, gold should drift lower to the short-term support line at $1569/65 or even to the previous low at $1555," say technical analysts at Societe Generale.

"Initial support is at 1564.88," adds UBS.

"A break below [that level] would expose $1556.50, the June 28 low and then $1533.70, the May 16, 2012 low." 

Gold in Sterling hovered just below 1045 pounds an ounce for most of this morning, slightly down on the week, while gold in Euros stayed below €1210 an ounce.

Silver meantime hovered around $28.70 an ounce, very slightly up on the week, while other commodities were similarly flat. Stock markets extended yesterday's gains, in contrast with major government bond prices which fell.

"We remain somewhat cautious on gold and silver," says INTL FCStone analyst Ed Meir.

"They could be hit by a downward reversal if and when markets start to decouple from the surging equity markets."

Stock markets in Europe extended gains on Wednesday morning after several major indices closed at multi-year highs Tuesday.

In London, the FTSE 100 posted its highest close since January 2008 yesterday, while over in the US the Dow saw a new all-time record close and the S&P 500 closed at its highest level since October 31 2007, less than 2% off its all-time record close set earlier that month.

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Natural Gas surges to 6-week high on bullish supply data

Natural gas futures surged to a 6-week high earlier Thursday after official data revealed supplies fell more than expected last week.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in April traded at USD3.580 per million British thermal units, up 3.18%.

The commodity hit a session low of USD3.463 and a high of USD3.602.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ending March 1 fell by 146 billion cubic feet, well beyond market expectations for a drop of 134 billion cubic feet.

Inventories fell by 92 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change for the week represented a decline of 107 billion cubic feet.

Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.083 trillion cubic feet as of last week. Stocks were 361 billion cubic feet less than last year at this time and 269 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 1.814 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.

The report showed that in the East Region, stocks were 73 billion cubic feet above the five-year average, following net withdrawals of 77 billion cubic feet.

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Oil down modestly as Venezuela still in focus

Oil futures fell slightly in the early part of Thursday’s Asian session despite some solid data points released Wednesday in the U.S. as crude traders continue to mull the impact of the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for April delivery fell 0.03% to USD90.41 in Asian trading Thursday after falling 1.22% to USD89.71 a barrel on Wednesday in the U.S. That decline was prompted by weekly inventories data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 3.8 million barrels in the week ended March 1, well beyond market calls for an increase of 526,000 barrels.

Traders focused more on the inventory data than economic news out of the world’s largest oil consumer. In U.S. economic news, the ADP private payroll survey showed non-government U.S. employers added 198,000 new jobs last month, topping estimates for a gain of 173,000 private sector jobs. The Labor Department delivers the February jobs report on Friday before the open of U.S. markets.

January’s figure was revised up to a gain of 215,000 from a previously reported increase of 192,000. Elsewhere, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that factory orders fell by 2% in January, less than market calls for a drop of 2.2%

Traders are also still pondering what the near- and long-term outlooks for crude will be now that Chavez has passed. Vice President Nicolas Maduro succeeds Chavez and it is widely expected that Maduro, like his predecessor, will use oil as a political weapon.

Despite the fact that Venezuela is home to the world’s largest oil reserves, the country has not appropriately invested in energy infrastructure, so any increased supply from the South American nation is years from coming to market.
Elsewhere, Brent for April delivery fell 0.09% to USD110.96 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange. 

COURTESY : INVESTING.COM

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China's SGE to launch after-hours trading in Gold,Silver

In yet another attempt to gain further foothold in global futures trading, China's leading commodities exchange, the Shanghai Futures Exchange said it would launch after-hours trading this year including in gold and silver.

The exchange said it will further boost its international ambitions by expanding the list of futures contracts in the coming years, including crude oil.

The extended trading hours will bridge the gap between domestic investors and foreign markets, and will align the exchange with international practices, according to an SGE statement.

The Shanghai Futures Exchange has 10 trading categories, including gold, silver, copper and aluminum.
Analysts said the move will allow market participants to hedge and adjust their positions after breaking news emerges in the United States or Europe, thus reducing price volatility.

SGE now trades from 9 am to 11:30 am and from 1:30 pm to 3 pm Beijing time.

China is also positioning its futures markets to become major players, and shape the global prices for metals, energy and farm commodities as this will give Chinese traders a direct role in valuing the contracts, and will help the country to be less at the mercy of markets elsewhere, they added.

China is a heavy user of industrial and agricultural commodities, such as oil, copper and aluminum. But with an isolated futures market, the country has little say over global prices.

Aside from the Shanghai exchange, China has three other commodities bourses: the Dalian Commodity Exchange in Liaoning province, the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange in Henan province, and the China Financial Futures Exchange in Shanghai.

COURTESY : BULLIONSTREET

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Gold higher ahead of central bank meetings

Gold futures shot higher in the early part of Asia’s Thursday session following another strong day for U.S. stocks and ahead of several marquee central bank meetings later today.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery advanced 0.45% to USD1,582 per troy ounce after settling up 0.04% at USD1,575.50 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Wednesday.

Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,564.20 a troy ounce, Friday's low, and resistance at USD1,585.60, Tuesday's high.

Gold’s slight increase came amid another up day for U.S. equities, which included the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising to another record high, and some decent data points.
In U.S. economic news, the ADP private payroll survey showed non-government U.S. employers added 198,000 new jobs last month, topping estimates for a gain of 173,000 private sector jobs. The Labor Department delivers the February jobs report on Friday before the open of U.S. markets.
January’s figure was revised up to a gain of 215,000 from a previously reported increase of 192,000. Elsewhere, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that factory orders fell by 2% in January, less than market calls for a drop of 2.2%.

Today, traders will be focusing on monetary policy commentary from the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank. It is widely expected that all three central banks will keep with their loose monetary policies though speculation has increased BoE could restart quantitative easing, which it halted in November.

Media reports also noted South Korea's central bank bought 20 tons of gold last month, marking its fifth purchase of the yellow metal in the past two years.
Elsewhere, Comex silver for May delivery rose 0.31% to USD28.892 per ounce while copper for May delivery fell 0.23% to USD3.497 per ounce.

COURTESY : INVESTING.COM

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Natural Gas falls ahead of supply data

Natural gas futures dropped on Wednesday after investors priced in the effects of a late-winter blast of cold air and looked ahead to Thursday's release of weekly supply data, with talk of bearish numbers prompting a selloff.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in April traded at USD3.478 per million British thermal units, down 1.46%.

The commodity hit a session low of USD3.466 and a high of USD3.549.

A winter storm roared across the eastern U.S. on Wednesday, while forecasting models continued to predict colder weather to stick around for the central and eastern portions of the country.

A warming trend, however, will eventually follow, according to longer-range models, which was bearish for natural gas.
Investors also avoided the commodity ahead of the Thursday release of U.S. inventories.

Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.299 trillion cubic feet as of last week, 16% above the five-year average for this time of year.

Early withdrawal estimates for this week’s storage data range from 120 billion cubic feet to 160 billion cubic feet.

Inventories fell by 92 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change for the week represented a decline of 107 billion cubic feet.

Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in April were down 0.62% and trading at USD90.26 a barrel, while heating oil for April delivery were down 0.23% and trading at USD2.9663 per gallon.

COURTESY : INVESTING.COM

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DGCX Gold Futures gains 77% in February

For the second month in succession this year, The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) achieved another all-time high in volume this February.

DGCX traded 1.15 million contracts in February valued at $44.16 billion with bulk of activity in the DGCX’s Indian Rupee contracts which saw record volume of 1,083,120 contracts.

Among precious metals, DGCX Gold futures recorded 49,048 contracts, a year-on-year increase of 77% from the same month last year. Silver futures also experienced a strong volume growth of 38% from January last year.

February 28th also marked the highest single day of trading as 82,197 contracts were traded.The month also saw the highest ever average daily value of contracts of $2.21 billion per day.

February also witnessed the highest ever daily volume of 82,197 contracts on 28 February, 2013 and the highest ever average daily volume of 57,867 contracts.

Currencies remained the strongest performing segment, trading a total of 1,100,392 currency contracts, up 126% from the same month last year.

Indian Rupee futures sustained its exceptional record-breaking growth momentum, registering its highest ever monthly volume of 1,083,120 contracts, valued at $40.09 billion. The contract also recorded its highest ever average daily value of $ 2.01 billion contracts in the month.

Gary Anderson, Chief Executive Officer, DGCX, said, “DGCX’s sustained record-breaking performance in the first two months of 2012 has been driven by the Exchange’s initiatives to generate greater liquidity and tighter spreads in its contracts.

Our key contracts like Indian Rupee futures and Gold futures are attracting a growing global diversity of participants. We remain committed to further enhancing our product portfolio for our Members and continue to explore new products and services to better support the increasingly sophisticated hedging and investment needs of market participants.” he added.

Among other currency contracts, Euro and Yen futures saw respective year-to-date volume growth of 369% and 135% from last year.

COURTESY : BullionStreet

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Natural Gas falls as market prices in cold weather, bullish supply data

Natural gas futures edged lower on Friday after investors priced in chilly weather forecasts and bullish supply data, locked in gains and later sold for profits. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in April traded at USD3.474 per million British thermal units, down 0.33%. The commodity hit a session low of USD3.441 and a high of USD3.518. Cold and snowy weather continued to settle in for much of the heavily populated central and eastern portions of the U.S., which sent prices rising earlier. Investors also bought earlier in the day on bullish supply data released by the U.S. government on Thursday. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report released earlier that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 22 fell by 171 billion cubic feet compared to expectations for a drop of 167 billion cubic feet.

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