Oil, Metals, Soft Commodities
US dollar drops as the economy shrinks by 0.9% for the last quarter.
US economic data revealed last night shows that the country’s GDP has shrunk by 0.9%, although some are remaining positive that a recession may still be avoided. Despite the worrying figures, Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, outlined his belief that due to low unemployment figures of 3.6% and a strong market for jobs with 11 million job open...
Wheat Trading Opportunities
Wheat Trading Opportunities Wheat is a well-known soft commodity that is vital for any kind of bread product. It also has important uses for the feedstock for cattle which is vital in economies with large agricultural sectors. The supply and demand for wheat can be volatile with changes occurring for a multitude of different reasons. The...
Oil dips to the bottom of its range as recession fears hit the market.
Oil has seen its first real slip up in price since March. The commodity had been running on the back of high inflation and supply issues stemming from the Russian and Ukraine crisis. During the run Oil peaked at $137 a barrel before entering a period of consolidation. The recent catalyst for the drop was OPEC announcing that 2023 would likely re...
OPEC announces increase in oil production
The OPEC group has announced plans to increase production of Crude oil to reduce the panic and ease the supply crunch. However, some analysts believe that the amount will be insufficient reduce the price. The organisation agreed to increase production to 648,000 barrels from 400,000 per day beginning in August. Brent crude and WTI dropped in price ...
Australian Gold companies slump to yearly lows
Some of Australia’s largest gold miners have slumped to their 52-week price lows as rising costs and labour shortages have pushed their share prices down. St Barbara, (SBM), Ramelius Resources, (RMS) and now Evolution Mining, (EVN) have all reported disappointing updates to the market. The collective weakness has reverberated across the sector wi...
Lithium darlings fall to 6 months lows.
Two junior lithium companies, Core Lithium, (CXO) and Lake Resources, (LKE) have seen aggressive sell offs after motoric rises in the last few years. The Backstory Lithium stocks companies had seen a momentous rise in the past 3 years largely on the back of the push towards renewable energy and electric vehicles which require lithium for th...
AGL and The Mike Cannon-Brookes Take Over. Part 2.
Continuing from my previous article on Mike Cannon-Brookes and the take over of AGL, there has been some very important breaking news from the Australian giant and the country’s biggest polluter, AGL Energy. To give you some background information; Mike Cannon-Brookes (MCB) had launched a takeover of the company as he felt he could change the...
Western Countries consider new sanctions against Russia, limiting their access to gold.
The USA and other Western nations have intimated that they are planning to block Russia's access to its international stockpile of gold. Russia has so far been able to use gold to support the Rubel as a tool to reduce the impact of sanctions. Russia has been able to trade gold assets for more liquid foreign exchange that have not been subject to cu...
Oil spikes again on fears of supply shortages
US indices retraced overnight as the market took a step back to assess the recent rally. The Nasdaq finished down 1.32%, the Dow Jones Index was down 1.29% and the S&P 500 was 1.23% in the red. Despite the selling, the session was still a far cry from recent sell-offs. In Europe, the DAX slumped 1.31% after showing some strength early in the...
The USA and the UK ban Russian oil imports as Gold price approaches all-time high
The USA and the UK announced measures to ban Russian oil imports in order to isolate Russia from the global economy. This follows on from sanctions imposed on Russia’s top oligarchs and government officials along with its central bank in a bid to push against Russia’s war on Ukraine. The market responded to the news with a volatile trading sess...
Commodities finish the week on a high as indices falter
The market closed the week down overall as volatility continues due to the Russia and Ukraine conflict. The Dow Jones dipped 0.5%, the S&P500 fell 0.8%, and the NASDAQ performed the worst, declining 1.7%, despite generally positive sentiment from the USA concerning the employment figures released on Friday. Employers added 678,000 jobs to the w...
Energy crunch sees coal, oil and gas soar.
Coal and Gas prices have surged and joined gold and oil as demand surges due to the supply shortages stemming from the Russia and Ukraine conflict. The global indices were up overall as the market still remains unsure of how to react to the unfolding crisis. In Europe, the FTSE provided strength with a 1.36% gain and the DAX provided a small bou...
Surging commodities and high volatility the theme as the Ukraine conflict continues
US and European equity markets remained volatile as fighting between Russian and Ukraine forces continued and negotiation talks failed to result in any progress. Both parties however have committed to another round of discussions. The VIX, Wall Street’s volatility measure surged 12% to 30 indicating the increased fear investors are feeling fro...
Russia and Ukraine’s Crisis: Brent and Crude Oil Price action
In the midst of the Russian, Ukraine crisis, there are huge ramifications that affect us all in the global market. Energy is a critically important export. Russian oil and gas exports make up a fifth of Russia's economy and half of its earnings from exports. The country is the European Union's biggest oil trading partner, according to the lates...
GOLD and how it moves in times of crisis
For years, gold has been considered a store of value. As a physical commodity, it cannot be printed like money, and its value is not impacted by interest rate decisions made by a government. Because gold has historically maintained its value over time, it serves as a form of insurance against adverse economic events. When an adverse event occur...