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bond futures rise
May 20th, 2013
Bond Futures – The longest decline in Treasuries this year has left U.S. government debt the cheapest since March 2011 when measured by real yields and the best relative value compared with German bunds in more than two decades.
After inflation, 10-year U.S. notes yielded 0.91 percent last week, or 1.77 percentage points more than real yields on U.K. gilts, the widest spread in 25 months. Versus Germany, the securities are the least costly in 23 years when adjusted for the recent record-low interest rates around the world that distorted the normal relationship, according to FTN Financial.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is counting on Treasuries to contain borrowing costs as the central bank buys $85 billion a month in securities to sustain the economic recovery that lifted U.S. consumer confidence to the highest in almost six years. The better relative yield for U.S. bonds may help bolster demand even as Warren Buffett said this month that he pitied fixed-income investors because of about record-low interest rates.
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natural gas futures climb
May 20th, 2013
Natural gas futures advanced for a second day in New York on forecasts for above-normal temperatures that would boost demand for the power-plant fuel.
Gas gained as much as 2.6 percent after Commodity Weather Group LLC in Bethesda, Maryland, predicted warmer-than-average weather in the Northeast and Great Lakes region through May 24. The high in New York on May 22 may be 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 Celsius), 10 more than usual, according to AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania.
“The weather continues to confound the bears,” said Phil Flynn, a senior market analyst for Price Futures Group in Chicago. “Temperatures have gone from colder than normal to warmer than normal. There’s been an incredible amount of volatility with the weather situation.”
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s&p 500 futures advance
May 17th, 2013
S&P 500 Futures – U.S. stocks advanced, putting the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index on track for its fourth straight week of gains, as gauges for leading indicators and consumer sentiment advanced more than estimated.
Northrop Grumman Corp. climbed 3.8 percent after increasing its share-buyback program by $4 billion. Boeing Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. added added more than 2 percent to pace gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. (INDU) J.C. Penney Co. slid 3.7 percent after its first-quarter loss widened.
The S&P 500 (SPX) rose 0.5 percent to 1,658.59. at 11:55 a.m. in New York. The equity benchmark is heading for a 1.5 percent weekly gain. The Dow advanced 61.95 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,295.17, a fresh record. Options contracts on stocks, exchange-traded funds and indexes expire today, leading investors to adjust their holdings of some securities. Trading of S&P 500 stocks was 3.4 percent higher than the 30-day average at this time of day.
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Natural gas futures remain
May 17th, 2013
Natural gas futures will trade below $4 per million British thermal units for the rest of the year, according to a KPMG LLP Global Energy Institute survey of U.S. energy executives.
The survey showed 73 percent forecast that the price will range from $3 to $4 in 2013. Gas for June delivery settled at $3.932 yesterday, down 12 percent from the 2013 high of $4.444 in intraday trading on May 1.
“Greater assurance of supply appears to be stabilizing commodity price environments and enabling large investments,” said Regina Mayor, Houston-based oil and gas sector leader for KPMG. “At the same time, marginal production remains shut in which could quickly be reinstated.”
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soybean futures rise
May 17th, 2013
Soybean futures rose in Chicago, set for the biggest weekly gain since January, on signs of sustained Chinese demand and on speculation a pickup in U.S. corn planting may leave less acreage for sowing the oilseed.
China, the biggest soybean importer, purchased 79 percent of 346,634 metric tons sold by U.S. exporters in the week ended May 9 for delivery in the year beginning Sept. 1, the Department of Agriculture reported yesterday. That takes total U.S. sales for the next marketing year to 8.86 million tons before most farmers even planted their crops, USDA data show.
“Sustained U.S. soybean export sales to China supported soybean values,” Luke Mathews, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in a report today.
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gold futures fall
May 17th, 2013
Gold bears are dominant again after prices resumed their slump and billionaire George Soros joined investors selling holdings in exchange-traded products that have retreated to a two-year low.
Seventeen analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect prices to fall next week, with eight bullish and three neutral, the highest proportion of bears in two weeks. The analysts were divided a week ago after gold rebounded as much as 13 percent from the two-year low of $1,321.95 an ounce on April 16. ETP holdings slid 16 percent to 2,207.1 metric tons this year, the lowest since July 2011, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
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Crude oil futures decline
May 16th, 2013
Crude Oil – West Texas Intermediate crude fell for the fifth time in six days amid signs of economic weakness in the U.S. and Europe that threaten fuel demand.
Crude oil futures slid as much as 0.4 percent in New York. U.S. industrial production dropped the most in eight months in April, manufacturing in the New York region unexpectedly shrank in May and the euro-area economy contracted more than forecast in the first quarter. A measure of U.S. fuel consumption declined by 584,000 barrels last week to 18.5 million barrels a day, Energy Information Administration data yesterday showed.
“All the key players on the demand side basically see muted growth,” said David Lennox, a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney. “That will put significant downward pressure on crude prices. The EIA numbers, especially diesel, have shown for the last couple of weeks a weakening trend.”
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Dow Jones Hits Record
May 15th, 2013
Dow Jones Futures – U.S. stocks rose, pushing benchmark indexes to fresh records, as data showing weakness in manufacturing fueled bets the Federal Reserve will be in no hurry to scale back stimulus.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) rose 0.5 percent to 1,658.70 at 4 p.m. in New York. The benchmark equity gauge has set a record in nine of the past 10 sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) added 59.36 points, or 0.4 percent, to a record 15,274.61 today.
“The global economic outlook gives some support to the idea that more easing is on its way, especially with soft inflation,” Oliver Pursche, co-manager of the GMG Defensive Beta Fund and president of Suffern, New York-based Gary Goldberg Financial Services, said via phone. The firm manages about $650 million. “It would be surprising if there was a meaningful and prolonged pullback at this point.”
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s&p 500 pares losses
May 13th, 2013
S&P Futures – U.S. stock futures pared losses, after benchmark indexes climbed to record levels last week, as government data showed retail sales unexpectedly rose in April.
Yum! Brands Inc. fell 0.6 percent after the owner of the KFC and Pizza Hut dining chains reported a slump in April sales in China. Corning Inc. (GLW) climbed 2.1 percent as analysts raised their recommendation for the shares. Theravance Inc. rose 14 percent after Elan Corp. agreed to pay $1 billion for a share in royalties on new drugs.
S&P 500 futures expiring in June lost 0.1 percent to 1,627.3 at 8:49 a.m. in New York, after dropping as much as 0.5 percent earlier. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 17 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,051 today.
The 0.1 percent increase in U.S. retail sales followed a 0.5 percent drop in March, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.3 percent drop. The figures may prompt economists to forecast spending this quarter will cool less than previously projected as Americans overcome a January increase in the payroll tax.
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corn futures gain
May 13th, 2013
Corn futures climbed on concern that persistent wet weather in parts of the Midwest, the largest growing region in the U.S., raises the risk of the nation missing a record production forecast.
Wet conditions, followed by cold weather over the weekend in the western part of the Midwest, and rainfall last week in the eastern part probably caused delays in field work and sowing, DTN said in a report May 10, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its outlook for the 2013-14 crops. The U.S. is the world’s biggest producer of corn.
“It is too early to become complacent about supplies because exceptional weather-related production risks persist,” Luke Mathews, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), wrote in a report today.
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