Gold holds near 5-week low amid hawkish Fed outlook -SapForex24

Gold prices stayed near the lowest level in around five weeks in European trade on Tuesday, as hawkish remarks made by an influential Federal Reserve official reinforced expectations for the Fed to keep raising interest rates.

Comex gold futures were at $1,248.89 a troy ounce by 4:35AM ET (0835GMT), up $2.20, or around 0.2%. Prices fell to $1,244.10 in overnight trade, a level not seen since May 17. Gold prices lost about $10.00, or 0.8%, on Monday.

Also on the Comex, silver futures were up 7.8 cents, or roughly 0.5%, to $16.58 a troy ounce, after hitting its lowest since May 18 at $16.44.

New York Fed Chief William Dudley gave an upbeat assessment of the economy on Monday and warned against the central bank taking a pause in the tightening cycle.

In a business roundtable held in Plattsburg, New York, Dudley said U.S. inflation is a bit low but should rise alongside wages as the labor market continues to improve, allowing the Fed to continue gradually tightening U.S. monetary policy.

The remarks echoed similar comments made by Fed Chair Janet Yellen in last week’s press conference after the central bank hiked rates for the second time this year.

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans however later said the Fed should move slowly to raise rates and trim its portfolio due to soft inflation.

The U.S. central bank last week raised interest rates as widely expected and maintained plans to go ahead with another rate hike by year-end. The Fed also provided greater detail about how it plans to reduce its massive $4.5 trillion balance sheet.

Despite the Fed's relatively hawkish message, market players remained doubtful over the central bank's ability to raise rates as much as it would like before the end of the year due to a recent run of disappointing U.S. economic data.

Futures traders are pricing in around a 20% chance of a hike at the Fed's September meeting, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool. Odds of a December increase was seen at about 40%.

Market players will focus on a pair of Federal Reserve speakers Tuesday, as they look for more clues on future monetary policy moves.

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren speaks at 8:15AM ET at the DNB-Riksbank Macroprudential Conference Series meeting in Amsterdam. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan will also speak in San Francisco at the Commonwealth Club of California.

Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer did not address the outlook for U.S. monetary policy or the economy when he spoke in Amsterdam earlier in the day.

Among other precious metals, platinum was little changed at $928.05, while palladium tacked on 0.5% to $859.80 an ounce.

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Forex - Dollar index little changed, Fed meeting minutes ahead-SapForex24

The dollar was little changed against other major currencies on Wednesday, as investors awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting due later in the day.

EUR/USD held steady at 1.1186, off Tuesday’s six-month high of 1.1268.

The greenback regained some ground as investors turned their attention to the upcoming minutes of the Fed’s most recent policy meeting, with hopes of further indications on the pace of future rate hikes.

The U.S. dollar had broadly weakened recently following a string of revelations surrounding the FBI’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in November’s U.S. presidential election and reports that Donald Trump attempted to interfere with the judicial process.

Elsewhere, GBP/USD rose 0.27% to 1.2994.

Investors were also still digesting the Manchester terrorist attack that killed 22 people on Monday evening.

USD/JPY eased up 0.08% to 111.86, while USD/CHF was little changed at 0.9758.

The Australian dollar was weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.12% at 0.7471, while NZD/USD added 0.09% to 0.7019.

Earlier Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said construction work done fell 0.7% in the first quarter, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% slip.

Meanwhile, USD/CAD was steady at 1.3505.

Also Wednesday, Moody’s downgraded China’s credit rating for the first time in almost three decades.

Moody’s warned that China’s financial strength is likely to deteriorate in the coming years, as its economy slows and its national debt keeps rising.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 97.22.

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Oil recovers lost ground, but market remains under pressure-SapForex24

Oil prices recovered lost ground on Monday following big losses last week, driven by expectations that OPEC will extend a pledge to cut output to cover all of 2017, although a relentless rise in U.S. drilling capped gains.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil futures (CLc1) added 32 cents, or 0.64 percent, by 0649 GMT(2:49 a.m. ET), but were still just below the $50 mark pierced on Friday at $49.84 a barrel.
Brent crude futures (LCOc1) rose 35 cents, or 0.67 percent, to $52.31 per barrel.

Oil prices fell steeply last week on the back of stubbornly high crude supplies, despite a pledge by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some other producers to cut production by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) for six months from Jan. 1 to support the market.

U.S. drillers added oil rigs for a 14th week in a row, to 688 rigs, extending an 11-month recovery that is expected to boost U.S. shale production in May by the biggest monthly increase in more than two years.

U.S. crude production is at 9.25 million barrels per day (bpd) , up almost 10 percent since mid-2016 and approaching that of OPEC's top exporter Saudi Arabia.

"WTI oil slipped back below the $50 per barrel level, amid concerns that the lack of inventory drawdown since the OPEC production cuts is a sign that the cuts are not enough to rebalance supply and demand and put a floor under prices," said William O'Loughlin, investment analyst at Rivkin Securities in a note on Monday.

Both the Brent and WTI oil benchmarks are down more than 7.5 percent since the end of last year.
Keen to halt a further decline in prices, a panel made up by OPEC and other allied producers has recommended an extension of output cuts by another six months from June, a source said.

This, and an expected fall in Iranian production lent markets some support on Monday, traders said.
Iran's crude oil exports are set to hit a 14-month low in May, suggesting the country is struggling to raise exports after clearing out stocks stored on tankers.

Iranian oil exports, especially to its core markets in Asia, had soared since the ending of most sanctions against it in January 2016.

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Oil rises to near one-month high on supply tightening- SapForex24

Oil climbed to a near one-month high on Wednesday on signs of a gradual tightening in global oil inventories and on concerns about a supply outage at a field in the United Kingdom's North Sea that feeds into an international benchmark price.

Brent Crude futures, the international benchmark for oil, were at $54.52 per barrel at 0658 GMT, up 35 cents, or 0.65 percent, from their last close.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 33 cents, or 0.65 percent, at $51.35 a barrel.

Both benchmarks on Wednesday hit their highest levels since March 8.

"The immediate reason for the move was an unplanned production outage in the North Sea," said Sukrit Vijayakar, director of energy consultancy Trifecta, referring to an unplanned production outage at the Buzzard oil field in the North Sea.

Buzzard produces about 180,000 barrels per day. It is the largest contributor to the Forties crude stream that is a key component of the physical Brent oil price that the Brent futures contract settles against.

Traders also said that prices gained amid slowly tightening market conditions, with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) leading an effort to cut output.
With most of OPEC's crude exported on tankers, tracking ship movements can be a good gauge of market conditions.

Shipped oil supplies have fallen by as much as 17 percent this year, according to oil analysis firm Vortexa.

"We have seen a significant reduction in global oil supply since January, with oil on water going from 978 million barrels on Jan. 1 to 812 million barrels on April 3," said Vortexa chief executive Fabio Kuhn.

"These changes are a signal that the rebalancing is happening faster than many in the market believe."
Trading data in Thomson Reuters Eikon shows that OPEC shipments to the rest of the world fell to 813.7 million barrels by the end of March from 796.6 million barrels in January.

But the tighter markets will only gradually lead to a reduction in bloated inventories as production especially the United States is rising.

U.S. crude stocks fell by 1.8 million barrels last week to 533.7 million, still near an all-time record, the American Petroleum Institute reported late on Tuesday.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration will issue its inventory figures later on Wednesday.
At the heart of the bloated U.S. market is rising production.

The U.S. rig count rose for an 11th straight week last week to 662, making the first quarter of 2017 the strongest quarter for rig additions since mid-2011, according to energy services firm Baker Hughes.

Following a slump in 2015 and 2016, U.S. oil production has risen 8.5 percent since mid-2016 to 9.15 million bpd, the same level output stood at in 2014, when the market downturn began.
"Price upside will... be capped by the recovering U.S. shale sector," BMI Research said.

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Oil slips towards $50 on doubts over output-cut extension - SapForex24

Oil fell further towards $50 a barrel on Monday, pressured by uncertainty over whether an OPEC-led production cut will be extended beyond June in an effort to counter a glut of crude.

A committee of ministers from OPEC and outside producers agreed on Sunday to look at prolonging the deal, stopping short of an earlier draft statement that said the committee recommended keeping the measure in place.

International benchmark Brent crude was down 34 cents at $50.46 by 0822 GMT, after falling as low as $50.26. U.S. crude was down 44 cents at $47.53.

"We would see the relative lack of reaction in the price perhaps as a reflection of some disappointment that nothing more concrete was forthcoming," analysts at JBC Energy said in a report, referring to the conclusion of Sunday's talks.

A number of ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers met in Kuwait to review the progress of their supply cut, which initially runs until the end of June.

OPEC and 11 other producers including Russia agreed in December to reduce their combined output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of this year, to support prices and curb oversupply.

While many in OPEC have called for prolonging the curbs, Russia has been less definitive. Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Sunday it was too early to say whether there would be an extension.

There is "increasing scepticism" in the market as to whether a rollover of the cuts can be agreed, JBC added.

Oil also came under pressure from further evidence that higher prices as a result of the OPEC-led supply cut are helping boost supplies in the United States.

U.S. drillers added oil rigs for a 10th week in a row, data from energy services firm Baker Hughes showed on Friday, as energy companies boost spending on new production.

Because of higher U.S. output and the cuts by OPEC, the discount of U.S. crude to Brent has grown to around $2.90 per barrel, heading for its widest close since late 2015.

Despite ample inventories and rising U.S. output, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) said the market was rebalancing and it may not be necessary to keep output curbed unless supply-and-demand fundamentals worsen.

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Oil prices rise on talk that OPEC could extend supply cut- SapForex24

Oil prices rose on Tuesday on expectations that an OPEC-led production cut to prop up the market could be extended, while strong demand would also work to slowly erode a global fuel supply overhang.

Prices for front-month Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil, were at $51.86 per barrel at 0401 GMT, up 24 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their last close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 13 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $48.35 a barrel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), together with other producers including Russia, has pledged to cut its output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) between January and June in an effort to prop up prices and rein in a global supply glut that has dogged markets for almost three years.

Yet so far the cutback has not had the desired effect as compliance by involved exporters is patchy and as other producers, including the United States, have stepped up to fill the gap, resulting in crude prices falling more than 10 percent since the beginning of the year.

To halt the decline, OPEC members increasingly favor extending the pact beyond June to balance the market, sources within the group said, although they added that this would require NON-OPEC members like Russia to also step up their efforts.

Traders also said that healthy oil demand would help rebalance markets and support prices.
"Global demand for 2017 is expected to remain healthy and surpass long-term average growth in demand of 1.2 million barrels per day by between 0.2 and 0.4 million barrels per day.

 As such, the combination of robust demand and weaker global supply leading to rebalanced markets will not be de-railed by U.S. shale oil," said Jeremy Baker, Senior Commodity Strategist, at Vontobel Asset Management.

Baker said this would "support the case for a shift from contango to backwardation in the crude markets during the second-half 2017."

Contango describes a market structure in which prices for future delivery of a product are higher than current ones, while backwardation is price curve in which spot prices are more expensive than future deliveries.

Traders said that U.S. crude storage data, due to be published later on Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute (API), would likely be the next significant price driver.

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Oil prices rise as markets eye OPEC, non-OPEC production cuts- SapForex24

Oil prices rose in the first trading hours of 2017, buoyed by hopes that a deal between OPEC and non-OPEC members to cut production, which kicked in on Sunday, will be effective in draining a global supply glut.

International Brent crude oil prices (LCOc1) were up 16 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $56.98 a barrel at 0802 GMT on Tuesday - close to last year's high of $57.89 per barrel, hit on Dec. 12. Oil markets were closed on Monday after the New Year's holiday.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) (CLc1) crude oil prices were up 22 cents, or 0.41 percent, at $53.94 a barrel, not far from last year's high of $54.51 reached on Dec. 12.
Jan. 1 marked the official start of the deal agreed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC member countries such as Russia in November last year to reduce output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day.

Market watchers said January will serve as an indicator for whether the agreement will stick.
"Markets will be looking for anecdotal evidence for production cuts," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at Sydney's CMC Markets. "The most likely scenario is OPEC and non-OPEC member countries will be committed to the deal, especially in early stages."

Libya, one of two OPEC member countries exempt from cuts, increased its production to 685,000 barrels per day (bpd) as of Sunday, up from around 600,000 a day in December, according to an official from the National Oil Corporation (NOC).

Elsewhere, non-OPEC Middle Eastern oil producer Oman told customers last week that it will cut its crude term allocation volumes by 5 percent in March.

Non-OPEC member Russia's oil production in December remained unchanged at 11.21 million bpd, still near a 30-year high, but it was preparing to cut output by 300,000 bpd in the first half of 2017 in its contribution to the production cut accord.

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Dollar at fresh 14-year highs vs. rivals after mixed U.S. data

The dollar was hovering at a fresh 14-year peak against the other majors currencies on Wednesday, after the release of mixed U.S. data failed to dampen optimism over the strength of the economy.
The Universtity of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index rose to 93.8 in November from 91.6 the previous month, beating expectations for an unchanged reading.

In addition, the U.S. Commerce Department said durable goods orders climbed 4.8% last month, compared to expectations for a gain of 1.5%.
Core durable goods orders, which exclude volatile transportation items, rose 1% last month, compared to a forecast increase of 0.2%.

On a less positive note, the U.S. Department of Labor said initial jobless claims in the week ending November 19 increased by 18,000 to251,000 from the previous week’s total of 233,000 (initially 235,000). Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 15,000 to 250,000 last week.
Another report showed that U.S. new home sales fell by 1.9% to 563,000 units last month, disappointing expectations for a 0.3% increase.

The greenback has remained supported amid expectations that President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to ramp up fiscal spending and cut taxes will spur economic growth and inflation.
Faster growth would spark inflation, which in turn would prompt the Fed to tighten monetary policy a faster rate than had previously been expected.

The U.S. dollar has also been boosted by bets that the U.S. central bank will almost certainly raise interest rates next month.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Thursday reiterated that a rate hike “could well become appropriate relatively soon.”

EUR/USD dropped 0.81% to a fresh 11-month low of 1.0537.

Research group Markit earlier reported that its euro zone composite purchasing managers’ index, which measures the combined output of both the manufacturing and service sectors, increased to 54.1 November from the prior month’s reading of 53.3 and above forecasts for no change.
The German manufacturing PMI slipped to 54.9 this month from 55.0, while the services PMI climbed to a six-month high of 55.0 from 54.2.

Markit also said its French manufacturing PMI declined to a two-month low of 51.5 in November from 51.8 the previous month, while the services PMI rose to a two-month high of 52.6 from 51.4.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD slid 0.27% to 1.2390.

USD/JPY rallied 1.43% to an eight-month high of 112.78, while USD/CHF climbed 0.56% to 1.0171.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.08% at 0.7396 and with NZD/USD dropping 0.79% to 0.7006.

Meanwhile, USD/CAD gained 0.28% to trade at 1.3478.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.81% at a fresh 14-year high of 101.91.

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North American oil deals trickle back after Brexit shock

Oil prices (CLc1) have held steady at or above $45 a barrel for a majority of the last two months and touched a 2016 high above $51, ahead of the British referendum.

Tudor said buyers were banking on it eventually settling at around $60 a barrel, giving them confidence about buying drilling acreage in some of the nation's shale heartlands.

U.S. oil and gas producer Diamondback Energy Inc (O:FANG) last week said it would spend $560 million buying leases on oil-rich land in the Southern Delaware Basin, within the Permian Basin, the top U.S. oilfield, where initial production results have been strong and costs are coming down.

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A day later, U.S. energy company Laredo Petroleum Inc (N:LPI) said it would spend $125 million buying acreage in the Midland Basin, also part of the Permian.

Before the British referendum on June 23, buyers and sellers had grown comfortable with the idea that oil had rebounded from 12-year lows. That conviction helped to unclog the acquisition pipeline after a long-dormant period in which deals were offered but failed to materialize.

About $5.1 billion of U.S. and Canadian properties traded hands in June, the largest dollar amount in more than a year according to PLS Inc, global M&A database for such deals.

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