Author: FX
straga/iStock via Getty Images U.S. natural gas futures fell to a two-week low Friday on forecasts for milder weather than previously expected and a delayed restart to the end of the year for the Freeport liquefied natural gas export plant in Texas. Milder weather should allow utilities to leave more gas in storage, with stockpiles currently ~2.5% below the five-year average for this time of year. Front-month Nymex natural gas (NG1:COM) for January delivery settled -6.8% Friday and -14.3% for the week to $6.281/MMBtu. ETFs: (NYSEARCA:UNG), (UGAZF), (BOIL), (KOLD), (UNL), (FCG) Freeport LNG said Friday it expects to restart the…
J2R/iStock Editorial via Getty Images ABB (NYSE:ABB) agreed to pay more than $315M to resolve a multinational investigation into bribery of a high-ranking official at South African state-owned power utility Eskom, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday. ABB (ABB) bribed the Eskom official during 2014-17 “in order to corruptly obtain confidential information and win lucrative contracts,” the DoJ said. Company subsidiaries also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The DoJ said its resolution was coordinated with prosecutorial authorities in South Africa and Switzerland, as well as…
The S&P 500 (SP500) on Friday added 1.13% for the week to end at 4,071.70 points, with the benchmark index posting losses in four out of five sessions. The gains for the week were largely thanks to a massive rally on Wednesday which was spurred by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s comments on slowing rate hikes. The week got off to a negative start over concerns on China’s zero-COVID-19 policies and protests against them. By mid-week, the focus had turned to Powell, who in a speech all but confirmed that rate hikes would slow down starting from the central bank’s…
TolikoffPhotography Malaysian wellness company Agape ATP (OTCPK:AATP) (ATPC), which is seeking to uplist to Nasdaq, has cut its proposed public offering by nearly 80% to $10M. In its latest filing, Agape said that it is now seeking to offer 1.6M shares priced between $5.50 and $6.50, which would raise around $10M if priced at the midpoint. Underwriters would be granted a 45-day option to buy up to 240K additional shares to cover any over-allotments. In a prior filing, Agape said that it was looking to offer 7.7M shares priced in the same range, which would have raised about $46M if…
NZD/USD is set to finish the week with gains of 2.56%. The November US Nonfarm Payrolls suggested a tight labor market, so the Federal Reserve needs to keep hiking rates. NZD/USD Price Analysis: Daily close above 0.6400 exacerbates a rally towards 0.6570s. The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) climbed against the US Dollar (USD) for the fourth consecutive day, spurred by a weaker USD. An upbeat employment report on the United States (US) suggested the Federal Reserve (Fed) might need to keep hiking rates to ease a contracted labor market, though it failed to underpin the US Dollar. Therefore, the NZD/USD…
Mixed price action this week as traders balanced between catalysts from China, a slew of disappointing economic updates, and lots of central bank commentary. The Japanese yen seemed to be the biggest beneficiary, while the Loonie saw red despite a bounce in oil prices. Notable News & Economic Updates: Protesters flooded the streets in China, showing anger at zer0-COVID policies; Chinese authorities announced a stepped up focus on vaccinating older people J.P.Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI for November: 48.8 vs. 49.4 in October Chinese official manufacturing PMI down from 49.2 to 48.0 in Nov; non-manufacturing PMI fell from 48.7 to 46.7…
Markets:Gold down $5 to $1797WTI crude oil down 99-cents to $80.22US 10-year yields down 2.4 bps to 3.50%S&P 500 down 10 points to 4072JPY leads, CAD lagsThe US dollar was soft all week in the lead-up to non-farm payrolls and that was particularly true of USD/JPY in the hours before the release as the pair touched 133.64 early in Europe. With a strong bid in bonds, the market is seeing a Fed peak or creeping economic weakness.So naturally non-farm payrolls were strong and the latest batch of dollar bears was stung by a quick roughly 150 pips US dollar rally…
USDJPY rally stalled at the 38.2% retracement todayAs stocks moved back higher and yields moved lower, the US dollar is getting weaker.The USDJPY is back below its 200 day moving average of 134.506. Closing below the level today would be the first time the currency pair closed below that since February 23, 2021.The USDJPY moved higher after the stronger than expected jobs report. However momentum faded near the 38.2% retracement of the week’s trading range. That level comes in at 136.009. The high price reach 135.997.Since then, the price is been stepping lower and has now moved back below the…
We’re back to where we started.US markets have completely erased the moves after the strong non-farm payrolls report. The S&P 500 is now down just 5 points to 4071 and on track for a weekly close above 200-day moving average for the first time since April. It’s an impressive performance.More curious is the relentless bid in long-dated bonds. US 10s are down 3 bps to 3.49% from a high of 3.63%. US 30s are down 8 bps to 3.55% from a high of 3.70%.One line of thinking is that bond market participants are trying to get ahead of ‘the next…
The price of crude oil futures settled at $79.98. That is down -$1.24 or -1.53%. The OPEC+ meeting will take place virtually on Sunday. No change in production is expected.The price cap looks to be set at $60 for Russian oilThe Russian sanctions will also go into effect cutting off all imports of Russian imports. Those will stop on Monday. So there are a lot of balls in the air that could have impact on supply. On the demand side, China and its Covid policy remains a wild card for global demand. For the week, the price is up 4.79%…