Oil trades higher after OPEC report

Oil futures are trading to the upside during Wednesday’s Asian session after getting a lift from an unchanged global demand outlook report from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for April delivery rose 0.18% to USD92.71 per barrel in Asian trading Wednesday. Crude settled up 0.86% at USD92.85 a barrel on Tuesday in the U.S.

On Tuesday, OPEC said its 2013 demand forecast, calling for an increase of 800,000 barrels per day, is unchanged. However, the 12-nation cartel that accounts for 40% of global oil output, said it expects non-OPEC supply of 1 million barrels per day will cut into its market share.

Also on Tuesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration slightly lowered its 2013 forecast for Brent crude to USD108 per barrel from USD109.

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Gold trades slightly higher on ECB rumors

Gold futures rose are trading modestly higher in the early part of Wednesday’s Asian session as traders speculate the European Central Bank might have room to engage in monetary easing.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery rose 0.04% to USD1,592.30 per troy ounce in Asian trading Wednesday after gaining 0.86% to settle at USD1,591.60 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Tuesday.

Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,574.60 a troy ounce, Monday's low, and resistance at USD1,1619.40, the high from February 26.

On Tuesday, ECB council member Jens Weidmann said inflationary pressures across the euro zone remain light. Those comments prompted traders to speculate the ECB has some room to weaken the euro through monetary easing. At the conclusion of its policy meeting last week, the ECB left interest rates unchanged at 0.75% while announcing no new monetary easing initiatives.

Due in part to a plummeting Japanese yen, some European policymakers are pressuring the ECB to taken action to weaken the euro. Among the most vocal critics of the weaker yen have been Germany and France, the euro zone’s two largest economies.

Still, there are signs gold investors remain pensive. Holdings of bullion at the SPDR Gold Shares, the world’s largest exchange traded fund backed by by physical gold, resided at 1,236.729 tons as of Monday, the lowest level since late 2011.

On the other hand, physical demand in Asia is seen as steady, helped by comments made by Bank of Japan deputy governor nominee Kikuo Iwata. On Tuesday, Iwata said the central bank should engage in further aggressive easing initiatives.

Elsewhere, Comex silver for May delivery rose 0.05% to USD29.185 per ounce while copper for May delivery added 0.11% to USD3.555 per ounce.
COURTESY : INVESTING.COM

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Gold Technical Analysis – March 13th – XAUUSD

• Gold has rallied today, to the 61.8% Fibonacci retrace area of the last leg lower from $1619.78 – $1561.44. 

• This came after a breakout of the recent range consolidation highs around the $1585 area.  
• XAUUSD has found interim resistance at this 61.8% Fibonacci level, which is also aligned with the 15/2/13 daily low.  Any sustained upside brings the following technical areas of interest:
  • The $1600 handle.
  • 27/2/13 daily high around the $1614 area,
  • The $1618 – $1620 zone, this marks the recent range highs from 18/2/13 and 26/2/13
  • $1625 is the previous key support area, aligned with a 50% retrace, and marks a potential resistance area on any sustained move higher.
   
  
• Any move lower brings the following technical areas as a focus:
  • $1585 marks recent range highs, now viewed as potential near term support.
  • $1554 is the recent swing low, a move under this area would be a constructive technical development and would bring the $1530 area as a potential focus.
   

• Further to the above, the D1 XAUUSD chart below highlights multiple Fibonacci confluence areas that we will be monitoring going forward.

Gold outlook, Gold technical report, XAUUSD analysis 13/3/13

 COURTESY : forex-fx-4x

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Natural Gas rally wanes as forecasts call for East Coast warming trend

                
                       Natural gas futures slid in choppy trading on Tuesday, as a recent rally began to wane after weather forecasts pointed to a warming trend settling over the heavily populated central and eastern swathes of the U.S.

Warmer weather cuts into demand for heating in the nation's households and businesses and sends natural gas prices falling.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in April traded at USD3.635 per million British thermal units, down 0.40%.

The commodity hit a session low of USD3.620 and a high of USD3.675.
Weather services predicted normal temperatures to settle into the East Coast U.S. through the end of March, with some calling for warmer-than-normal thermometer readings.

The reports began to chip away at a rally that sent natural gas gaining due to unseasonably cold weather patterns that have gripped the country for much of February and March.

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MARCH-13th INTRADY LEVELS FOR MCX COMMODITY MARKET

13-MARCH-2013	RESISTANCE LEVELS	SUPPORT LEVELS

COMMODITY	RES-1	RES-2	RES-3	SUP-1	SUP-2	SUP-3
ALUMINIUM	106.70	107.25	108.30	105.10	104.05	103.50
COPPER	431.05	433.80	437.40	424.70	421.10	418.35
CRUDEOIL	5070	5105	5149	4991	4947	4912
GOLD	29535	29626	29732	29338	29232	29141
LEAD	121.25	122.00	123.25	119.25	118.00	117.25
NATURALGAS	199.40	201.40	202.90	195.90	194.40	192.40
NICKEL	928.50	933.40	942.00	915.00	906.40	901.50
SILVER	55234	55525	55851	54617	54291	54000
ZINC	107.80	108.65	109.70	105.90	104.85	104.00

For More Details Please Visit WWW.MCXFREETIPS.COM

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Korea remains Gold seller for 3rd year with 43 tons in 2012

South Korea remained a gold seller for the third year in succession despite being a paultry producer of the yellow metal.Country's central bank, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said the balance of trade in non-monetary gold was valued at a surplus of $1.59 billion last year, up from $1.5 billion a year earlier.

Non-monetary gold covers exports and imports of all gold not held as foreign reserve assets. In 2012, the country exported a total of 43 tons of gold and imported 13 tons.About 27 tons were exported to Hong Kong. The 2012 data marked a surplus for the fifth consecutive year since 2008 when a net outflow of gold reached $31.6 million.

Analysts said country’s trade surplus in gold rose in 2012 for the third consecutive year as more South Koreans secured sales of the precious metal amid an international price rally.
They added that Korea has maintained the status of a net gold seller since 2008, unusual for a country that produces only a few hundred kilograms of gold annually.

According to analysts as the price rose, more South Koreans took out gold from the closet and sold it and Korean firms exported more gold products after reprocessing imported gold.
The trade in gold remained in the red every year until Korea recorded a surplus worth $2.38 billion in 1998 when South Korea was among nations hit by the Asian financial crisis.

At the time, Koreans queued up to sell their gold jewelry after a nationwide appeal was made by the government for help to bail out the country, then reeling from a severe shortage of foreign currency reserves.BOK officials believe the gold trade volume is much larger because a large amount of gold is being smuggled in and out of the country.

In a sense, the gold trade surplus is not very welcoming because the value of the metal tends to increase during a financial crisis. In contrast to the net outflow of non-monetary gold, the BOK has raised its gold holdings to diversify its foreign reserves since 2010.

The central bank bought 20 tons of gold last month, raising its gold holdings to 104.4 tons, valued at $4.79 billion.The additional purchase of gold put the nation in 34th place in the world in terms of gold holdings, up from 36th at the end of November last year.Gold accounts for 1.5 percent of total reserves at the central bank as of the end of February, up from 1.2 percent the previous month. - BULLIONSTREET.COM

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Copper futures decline on China recovery concerns, strong U.S. dollar

                    
                           Copper futures edged lower during European morning hours on Tuesday, as investors continued to digest the recent disappointing economic data from China, the world’s largest consumer of the industrial metal.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for May delivery traded at USD3.509 a pound during European morning trade, down 0.25% on the day.

New York-traded copper prices fell by as much as 0.5% earlier in the day to hit a session low of USD3.500 a pound.

Concerns over a possible slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy intensified after data over the weekend showed that inflation in China hit a 10-month high in February, while industrial output rose at the slowest level since October 2009.

Higher-than-expected inflation could raise concerns that Beijing will start monetary tightening.

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

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South Korea non-monetary Gold value hits $1.59 bln in 2012

   
                     Asia's fourth largest economy, South Korea's balance of trade in non-monetary gold was valued at a surplus of $1.59 billion last year, up from $1.5 billion a year earlier.
 
According to Bank of Korea, the country logged a net outflow of gold not held as foreign reserve assets for the fifth straight year in 2012 amid the global economic slowdown.

Non-monetary gold covers exports and imports of all gold that is not held as foreign reserve assets, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The 2012 data marked the fifth consecutive year of a surplus run since 2008 when a net outflow of such gold reached $31.6 million.

The trade of non-monetary gold is part of the goods balance. Exports of such gold accounted for 0.55 percent out of Korea's total overseas shipments of goods in 2012, the BOK said.

Market watchers said that the surplus mainly came as investors' appetite for gold increased amid the 2008 global financial crisis and the subsequent economic downturn. The surplus indicated that Korea shipped gold products overseas after reprocessing imported gold, they said.

Except for 1998 and 2006, the trade of non-monetary gold had remained in the red ever year until 2007, data showed.

Korea logged a surplus of such trade worth a record $2.38 billion in 1998 when South Korea was in the midst of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.Then, Koreans queued up to sell their gold rings kept in storage in a nationwide campaign to help bail out their country, which was reeling from a severe shortage of foreign reserves.

In contrast of a net outflow of non-monetary gold, the BOK has raised its gold holdings to diversify its FX reserves since 2010, which stood at $327.4 billion as of the end of February.
The central bank bought 20 tons of gold last month, raising its gold holdings to 104.4 tons valued at $4.79 billion.
Courtesy : Bullionstreet

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Gold futures inch up in rangebound trade

                 Gold futures inched higher in rangebound trade during European morning hours on Tuesday, as investors continued to speculate whether global central banks will continue to provide stimulus measures.

Expectations of monetary stimulus tend to benefit gold, as the precious metal is seen as a safe store of value and inflation hedge.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery traded at USD1,582.10 a troy ounce during European morning trade, up 0.25% on the day.

Prices held in a tight USD5-trading range between USD1,579.00 a troy ounce, the daily low and a session high of USD1,583.50 a troy ounce.

Gold prices were likely to find support at USD1,554.80 a troy ounce, the low from February 21 and resistance at USD1,602.20, the high from February 28.

From a technical standpoint, the precious metal has traded in a tight range of roughly USD1,560 to USD1,586 a troy ounce since the beginning of March.

Gold’s investment appeal has weakened in recent weeks as market players opted for global equities over the precious metal, amid hopes the economic recovery in the U.S. is gaining momentum.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved further into unchartered territory Monday, closing at a fresh record high. Sentiment over the U.S. economy got a boost last week following the release of upbeat employment data on Friday.

The U.S. Department of Labor said the economy added 236,000 jobs in February, beating expectations for a 160,000 increase. However, January’s figure was revised down to an increase of 119,000 from a previously reported gain of 157,000.

The data also showed that the unemployment rate ticked down to 7.7% from 7.9% in January.

Market analysts noted that the still-high jobless rate will keep the Fed’s asset-purchase program in place for the indefinite future. The central bank previously stated that monetary policy will remain accommodative “at least as long” as the jobless rate remains above 6.5%.

Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank could bring quantitative easing, one of the biggest boosts to gold’s bull run, to an end this year.

While gold’s investment appeal has been dimmed in recent weeks, concerns over the global economic outlook remain after Chinese data released over the weekend showed consumer inflation accelerated sharply in February, while industrial production slowed to the lowest level since October 2009.

Fears over a possible economic impact from the U.S. sequestration spending cuts and last month's election deadlock in Italy also was likely to remain in focus.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for May delivery added 0.2% to trade at USD28.91 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery declined 0.35% to trade at USD3.503 a pound.

Copper prices came under pressure amid concerns about the economic health of China, the world’s largest consumer of the industrial metal.

Courtesy : INVESTING.COM

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Natural Gas extends gains on bullish supply data, chilly weather reports

                     Natural gas futures were up in mid-session trading on Monday though off earlier 6-week highs after investors priced in bullish supply data and frosty weather reports into trading and softened a multi-session rally.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in April traded at USD3.643 per million British thermal units, up 0.37%.

The commodity hit a session low of USD3.591 and a high of USD3.647.
Weather forecasting models continued to indicate that colder weather will stay in place for the heavily populated eastern half of the country and hike demand for heating in households and businesses.

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