Jalatama Artha Berjangka News

Gold fell from a three-month high as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting indicated stimulus cuts would likely continue, crimping demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment.

Several policy makers said that in “the absence of an appreciable change in the economic outlook, there should be a clear presumption in favor of continuing to reduce the pace” of bond purchases at each meeting, according to minutes released today. Some officials raised concern that inflation is too low. Gold climbed 9.8 percent this year as signs that U.S. growth is faltering fueled bets that the pace of stimulus cuts may slow.

Gold futures for April delivery declined 0.8 percent to $1,316.10 an ounce in electronic trading at 2:37 p.m. on the Comex in New York. Prices settled at $1,320.40 at the end of regular trading before the minutes were released,

The metal reached $1,332.40 yesterday, the highest since Oct. 31. Last month, the central bank trimmed monthly bond purchases by $10 billion for a second straight month to $65 billion. Fed Chairman Janet Yellen said Feb. 11 that reductions aren’t on a “pre-set course.”

Bullion surged more than 500 percent in 12 straight years of gains through 2012 as the dollar weakened. The rally accelerated from December 2008 to June 2011 as the Fed expanded its balance sheet through debt purchases and held borrowing costs at a record low in a bid to revive growth amid a U.S. recession. Prices reached a record $1,923.70 in September 2011.

(Source: Bloomberg)

West Texas Intermediate crude surged above $102, the highest level in four months, on speculation that inventories in Cushing, Oklahoma, decreased last week and as cold weather in the U.S. boosted fuel demand.

Prices climbed the most since Dec. 3. Supplies at Cushing, the delivery point for WTI futures, probably dropped for a third week, five analysts said. A second storm in three days has brought snow to the U.S. Northeast and mid-Atlantic, bolstering the use of distillate fuels, including heating oil and diesel.

WTI for March delivery increased $2.13, or 2.1 percent, to $102.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Oct. 10. Prices have rallied 5.1 percent this month. The volume of all futures traded was 25 percent above the 100-day average at 5:09 p.m. Floor trading was closed yesterday for the U.S. Presidents Day holiday.

Prices extended gains after the settlement, surging as much as 2.9 percent in electronic trading to $103.25 a barrel. Futures advanced $2.83, or 2.8 percent, to $103.13 at 5:09 p.m.

Brent for April settlement rose $1.28, or 1.2 percent, to $110.46 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Volume was 29 percent below the 100-day average. The European benchmark grade was at a premium of $8.36 to WTI for the same month. The spread was $8.95 on Feb. 14, the widest in a week based on closing prices.

(Source: Bloomberg)

West Texas Intermediate crude settled above $100 for a fourth day this week on better-than-expected U.S. consumer confidence.

Prices gained 0.4 percent since Feb. 7, capping the longest stretch of weekly increases in more than a year. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of sentiment held at 81.2 this month, and supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for New York futures, slid to a three-month low. WTI was lower for most of the day after the Federal Reserve said factory production dropped the most since May 2009 in January.

WTI for March delivery dropped 5 cents to settle at $100.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices climbed to a four-month high of $100.37 on Feb. 12. Volume was 5.5 percent above the 100-day average at 3:29 p.m.

Nymex floor trading will be closed Feb. 17 for the U.S. Presidents Day holiday.

Brent for April settlement gained 56 cents, or 0.5 percent, to end the session at $109.08 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. Volume was 33 percent below 100-day average. The European benchmark crude was at premium of $8.95 a barrel to WTI for the same month. The spread settled at $8.38 yesterday, based on March prices.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Australia’s dollar reached a four-week high after home prices and business sentiment climbed. The greenback fell against the yen before Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen speaks to U.S. lawmakers today.

Japan’s currency advanced from its lowest level in more than a week against the dollar before reports this week that may show U.S. retail sales stalled and Chinese import growth slowed. The Aussie rose against all its major peers. A gauge of global currency volatility dropped to the least in more than two weeks.

The Australian currency rose 0.7 percent to 90.09 U.S. cents as of 9:08 a.m. in Singapore, and touched the highest since Jan. 14 at 90.15. The yen added 0.2 percent to 102.10 per dollar after dropping to 102.64 yesterday, the weakest since Jan. 31. It fetched 139.62 per euro, down 0.1 percent from yesterday. Europe’s shared currency climbed 0.2 percent to $1.3675.

The JPMorgan Global FX Volatility Index fell to 8.05 percent, the lowest since Jan. 22.

Yellen will speak before Congress today for the first time since being sworn in as Fed chairman on Feb. 3. Her appearance comes after the Federal Open Market Committee said last month it will cut monthly bond purchases by $10 billion to $65 billion, citing labor-market indicators that “were mixed but on balance showed further improvement” and economic growth that has “picked up in recent quarters.” Policy makers next meet on March 18-19.

A report tomorrow may show imports by China, the world’s second-largest economy, climbed 4 percent last month from a year earlier after an 8.3 percent gain in December, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The U.S. Commerce Department may say Feb. 13 that retail sales stagnated in January after a 0.2 percent gain the month before, a separate poll showed.

(Source: Bloomberg)

West Texas Intermediate crude rose for a fifth day, climbing above $100 a barrel as a decline in U.S. unemployment bolstered the outlook for fuel demand in the world’s biggest oil consumer.

Futures advanced as much as 0.6 percent in New York after gaining the most in two months on Feb. 7. The jobless rate dropped to the lowest level since October 2008, while payrolls increased by 113,000 in January, according to the Labor Department. That was below the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Libya’s crude production expanded after the end of protests that shut a pipeline, according to National Oil Corp.

WTI for March delivery rose as much as 58 cents to $100.46 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $99.98 at 1:43 p.m. Sydney time. The contract climbed 2.1 percent to $99.88 on Feb. 7, the highest close since Dec. 27. The volume of all futures traded was more than double the 100-day average. Prices advanced 2.5 percent last week.

Brent for March settlement gained as much as 18 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $109.75 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $9.34 to WTI. The spread widened for a third day on Feb. 7 to close at $9.69.

(Source: Bloomberg)