Etikett: crude oil prices

Gold hit by central banks hawks

ETF Securities Gold hit by central banks hawksGold hit by central banks hawks

ETF Securities Weekly Flows Analysis – Gold hit by central banks hawks

  • Gold ETPs saw large outflows on increased expectations of monetary policy normalisation.
  • Positive surprise from Chinese manufacturing activity supported demand for industrial metals ETPs.
  • Temporary factors boosted crude oil prices and inflows into oil ETPs.

Download the complete report (.pdf)

Largest weekly outflows from Gold ETPs since December last year.

We saw US$160mn of outflows from gold ETPs last week after hawkish comments from the ECB and BOE and higher-than-expected German inflation. The increased expectations of monetary policy normalisation resulted in a sovereign bond sell-off and rising risk appetite. US 10-year Treasury yields rose by 12bps while European 10-year sovereign bond yields rose by an average of 21bps, to their highest level since December 2015. In January 2017, we published our forecast for the gold price at US$1230/oz by year-end. We remain largely on track with that trajectory, with gold falling below US$1250/oz last week. With the gradual rise of global real yields, we believe that gold prices will continue to trend down to US$1230/oz. Although the downside risk for gold prices will be contained by the gradual nature of rate increases, and on-going tail risks. While the US dollar has been soft recently relative to other currencies, a rising rate environment will be US dollar positive and gold price negative in the second half of the year.

Industrial metals ETFs saw large inflows this week with US$55mn.

The publication of the Chinese official Purchasing Managers’ Index numbers for the manufacturing sector last Friday surprised to the upside, rising from 51.2 in May to 51.7 in June. The sub-components of the index suggest that the manufacturing sector was supported by rising demand from abroad as export orders strongly increased, while there are indications of growing domestic demand. Despite improving industrial sentiment, metal price gains were capped at 2.3%, because weak Asian stock markets acted as a counterweight.

Crude oil ETPs attracted almost US$24mn of inflows last week.

Oil prices gained 6% last week, with Brent and WTI reaching US$47.5 and US$44.9 per barrel respectively as of last Friday, despite the surprise build in US crude oil inventories. The US Energy Information Administration reported a 118k barrels increase in US inventory from the previous week. The price gains were likely resulting from the decline in US crude oil production by 100,000 barrels per day on the week of the 19th of June. However, this is potentially a one-off price shock as it partly reflects the temporary interruption of the production in the Gulf of Mexico during the tropical storm Cindy two weeks ago.

Equity ETFs saw the highest inflows this week with US$29mn.

Gold miner ETFs saw significant inflows for three consecutive weeks, totalling US$81mn. Investors generally see gold miners as distinct from gold allocation. Other thematic ETPs such as robotics and cyber security remain popular with US$4mn and US$18.5mn of inflows last week respectively.

Video Presentation

Morgane Delledonne Fixed Income Strategist at ETF Securities provides an analysis of last week’s performance, flow and trading activity in commodity exchange traded products and a look at the week ahead.

For more information contact

ETF Securities Research team
ETF Securities (UK) Limited
T +44 (0) 207 448 4336
E info@etfsecurities.com

Important Information

General

This communication has been provided by ETF Securities (UK) Limited (”ETFS UK”) which is authorised and regulated by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority.

This is a strictly privileged and confidential communication between ETFS UK and its selected client. This communication contains information addressed only to a specific individual and is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person other than the named addressee. This communication (i) is provided for informational purposes only, (ii) should not be construed in any manner as any solicitation or offer to buy or sell any securities or any related financial instruments, and (iii) should not be construed in any manner as a public offer of any securities or any related financial instruments. If you are not the named addressee, you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. Please notify the sender immediately if you have mistakenly received this communication. When being made within Italy, this communication is for the exclusive use of the ”qualified investors” and its circulation among the public is prohibited.

This document is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, an advertisement or any other step in furtherance of a public offering of shares in the United States or any province or territory thereof. Neither this document nor any copy hereof should be taken, transmitted or distributed (directly or indirectly) into the United States.

This document may contain independent market commentary prepared by ETFS UK based on publicly available information. ETFS UK does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or correctness of any information contained herein and any opinions related to product or market activity may change. Any third party data providers used to source the information in this communication make no warranties or representation of any kind relating to such data.

Any historical performance included in this document may be based on back testing. Back tested performance is purely hypothetical and is provided in this document solely for informational purposes. Back tested data does not represent actual performance and should not be interpreted as an indication of actual or future performance.

Historical performance is not an indication of or a guide to future performance.

The information contained in this communication is neither an offer for sale nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. This communication should not be used as the basis for any investment decision.

ETFS UK is required by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (”FCA”) to clarify that it is not acting for you in any way in relation to the investment or investment activity to which this communication relates. In particular, ETFS UK will not provide any investment services to you and or advise you on the merits of, or make any recommendation to you in relation to, the terms of any transaction. No representative of ETFS UK is authorised to behave in any way which would lead you to believe otherwise. ETFS UK is not, therefore, responsible for providing you with the protections afforded to its clients and you should seek your own independent legal, investment and tax or other advice as you see fit.

Risk Warnings

Any products referenced in this document are generally aimed at sophisticated, professional and institutional investors. Any decision to invest should be based on the information contained in the prospectus (and any supplements thereto) of the relevant product issue. The price of any securities may go up or down and an investor may not get back the amount invested. Securities may valued in currencies other than those in which there are priced and will be affected by exchange rate movements. Investments in the securities which provide a short and/or leveraged exposure are only suitable for sophisticated, professional and institutional investors who understand leveraged and compounded daily returns and are willing to magnify potential losses by comparison to investments which do not incorporate these strategies. Over periods of greater than one day, investments with a short and/or leveraged exposure do not necessarily provide investors with a return equivalent to a return from the unleveraged long or unleveraged short investments multiplied by the relevant leverage factor. Investors should refer to the section entitled ”Risk Factors” in the relevant prospectus for further details of these and other risks associated with an investment in any securities referenced in this communication.

If you have any questions please contact ETFS UK at +44 20 7448 4330 or info@etfsecurities.com for more information.

Crude oil prices at risk

Crude oil prices at risk

Weekly Investment Insights: Crude oil prices at risk. In 2017, ETF Securities will be broadening its weekly FX insights to cover all asset classes including commodities, equities and fixed income. We hope you continue to find these updates useful

Highlights

  • The November oil accord is likely to do little in the face of strong Iraqi exports and growing US production.
  • Momentum underpinning oil prices is wavering and a downside correction is likely in the short term.
  • Beyond Q1-17, the fundamental outlook for oil is more positive as global demand marches higher.

ETF Securities Trade Idea – Commodities & Foreign Exchange – Crude oil prices at risk

Volatility abound

The OPEC/non-OPEC compliance and monitoring committee, charged with ensuring successful implementation of the November accord (which entailed a 1.2mbpd reduction in output), will meet for the first time this weekend as uncertainty continues to drive fluctuations in global oil markets. While statements professing compliance by key oil ministers in Saudi Arabia and Algeria have kept prices elevated (supported somewhat by reports of falling production in the latest monthly OPEC report), downside risks loom. Participants continue to be wary of whether Iraq will comply with the deal, as the nation has been asked to reduce production by the second largest amount (within OPEC) in spite of its challenging economic circumstances. Meanwhile, output and exports in the US continue to expand in the higher-price environment. Our view is that oil prices are likely to come under further pressure in the coming month as considerable downside risks overcome market optimism over the November agreement, which in itself is only expected to last until June.

Risks ahead

During last week’s Global Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi, senior cartel officials from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Algeria all publically announced commitment to the November production agreement and some even stated a willingness to exceed requirements in order to see the deal work. While on the surface this appears very positive, the reality is that risks actually emanate from OPEC’s second largest producer, Iraq, where oil exports hit an unprecedented level in December. Therefore, the success of the landmark accord still remains in the balance and in any case, is only expected to be a feature of the oil market for a short six months. Also, with oil prices above the key $50/bbl level, US oil production is ramping up quickly (see Figure 1), with the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reporting that oil output has hit an eight month high. This creates a landscape where support for oil prices looks fragile and a downward correction looks likely.

Figure 1: US output grows

(Click to enlarge)

From a technical perspective, momentum indicators appear to be waning for crude benchmarks and point to moves lower in coming sessions. Speculative futures positioning for Brent and WTI crude oil has moderated in recent weeks but still remains at levels that suggest downward correction potential. Any move lower in oil prices is likely to face resistance from their 8th December lows of around $52.8/bbl and $50.9/bbl for Brent and WTI respectively, which sits near their current 50 dmas.

Prospects diverge

While the short-term outlook above is broadly negative for the oil-exporting currency complex (CAD and NOK), prospects are not uniform. The CAD has the benefit of 76% of its exports going to the US and accordingly is directly exposed to the improving growth outlook there. Meanwhile, Norway is still struggling through a structural transition away from oil industries while growth and inflation are moderating, painting a less positive picture for the NOK. Beyond Q1-17, we expect to continue to see the global oil market returning to a balanced state and offering further upside to crude prices.

Investors wishing to express the investment views outlined above may consider using the following ETF Securities ETPs:

Currency ETPs

EUR Base

ETFS Long CAD Short EUR (ECAD) ETFS Short CAD Long EUR (CADE) ETFS Long NOK Short EUR (EUNO) ETFS Short NOK Long EUR (NOEU)

GBP Base

ETFS Long CAD Short GBP (GBCA) ETFS Short CAD Long GBP (CAGB) ETFS Long NOK Short GBP (GBNO) ETFS Short NOK Long GBP (NOGB)

USD Base

ETFS Long CAD Short USD (LCAD) ETFS Short CAD Long USD (SCAD) ETFS Long NOK Short USD (LNOK) ETFS Short NOK Long USD (SNOK)

3x

ETFS 3x Long CAD Short EUR (ECA3) ETFS 3x Short CAD Long EUR (CAE3)

5x

ETFS 5x Long CAD Short EUR (ECA5) ETFS 5x Short CAD Long EUR (CAE5)

Currency Baskets

ETFS Bullish USD vs Commodity Currency Basket Securities (SCOM) ETFS Bearish USD vs Commodity Currency Basket Securities (LCOM)

Commodity ETPs

ETFS Brent Crude (BRNT) ETFS WTI Crude Oil (CRUD) ETFS Longer Dated Brent Crude (FBRT) ETFS Longer Dated WTI Crude Oil (FCRU)

2x & -1x

ETFS 2x Daily Long Brent Crude (LBRT) ETFS 2x Daily Long WTI Crude Oil (LOIL) ETFS 1x Daily Short Brent Crude (SBRT) ETFS 1x Daily Short WTI Crude Oil (SOIL)

3x

ETFS 3x Daily Long WTI Crude Oil (3CRL) ETFS 3x Daily Short WTI Crude Oil (3CRS)

ETFS EUR Daily Hedged Brent Crude (EBRT) ETFS EUR Daily Hedged WTI Crude Oil (ECRD) ETFS GBP Daily Hedged Brent Crude (PBRT) ETFS GBP Daily Hedged WTI Crude Oil (PCRD)

The complete ETF Securities product list can be found here.

Important Information

This communication has been provided by ETF Securities (UK) Limited (“ETFS UK”) which is authorised and regulated by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”). The products discussed in this document are issued by ETFS Foreign Exchange Limited (“FXL”). FXL is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission.

This communication is only targeted at professional investors. In Switzerland, this communication is only targeted at Regulated Qualified Investors.

The information contained in this communication is for your general information only and is neither an offer for sale nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. This communication should not be used as the basis for any investment decision. Historical performance is not an indication of future performance and any investments may go down in value. This document is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, an advertisement or any other step in furtherance of a public offering of shares or securities in the United States or any province or territory thereof. Neither this document nor any copy hereof should be taken, transmitted or distributed (directly or indirectly) into the United States. This communication may contain independent market commentary prepared by ETFS UK based on publicly available information. Although ETFS UK endeavours to ensure the accuracy of the content in this communication, ETFS UK does not warrant or guarantee its accuracy or correctness. Any third party data providers used to source the information in this communication make no warranties or representation of any kind relating to such data. Where ETFS UK has expressed its own opinions related to product or market activity, these views may change. Neither ETFS UK, nor any affiliate, nor any of their respective, officers, directors, partners, or employees accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this publication or its contents. ETFS UK is required by the FCA to clarify that it is not acting for you in any way in relation to the investment or investment activity to which this communication relates. In particular, ETFS UK will not provide any investment services to you and or advise you on the merits of, or make any recommendation to you in relation to, the terms of any transaction. No representative of ETFS UK is authorised to behave in any way which would lead you to believe otherwise. ETFS UK is not, therefore, responsible for providing you with the protections afforded to its clients and you should seek your own independent legal, investment and tax or other advice as you see fit. Short and/or leveraged exchange-traded products are only intended for investors who understand the risks involved in investing in a product with short and/or leveraged exposure and who intend to invest on a short term basis. Potential losses from short and leveraged exchange-traded products may be magnified in comparison to products that provide an unleveraged exposure. Please refer to the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the relevant prospectus for further details of these and other risks.

Agricultural Commodities Rally

Agricultural Commodities Rally

Agricultural Commodities Rally – ETF Securities Commodity ETP Weekly

•    Inflows into long oil ETPs highest in 14 weeks, as investors return to bargain hunting.

•    Profit-taking led to US$36.0mn outflows from long wheat ETPs.

•    Long nickel ETPs see largest inflows since November 2014 on the back of bargain hunting.

Download the complete report (.pdf)

The ‘No’ campaign in the Greece’s referendum yesterday received more than 60% of votes, emboldening the Greek government’s stance to reject its creditors terms. Failure to make progress in debt negotiations elevates the risk of a default on the €3.5bn that is owed to the ECB on 20th July. A default on that bond would almost certainly lead to the emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) being switched off and throw Greek banks into an untenable position. Gold has surprisingly not reacted to the events but that could change as worst-case scenarios crystalize. Agricultural commodities have clearly been outperformers in the past week. As the strengthening El Niño weather pattern changes crop growing conditions, we believe agricultural commodities will continue to offer investors strong opportunities.

Inflows into long oil ETPs highest in 14 weeks, as investors return to bargain hunting. A rise in rig counts in the US, the first since December 2014, drove WTI crude oil prices down 4.8%. Brent fell by 1.8%. As we have long argued, the rally in oil prices since March has been premature and has the potential to delay the supply cuts the industry needs. The increase in oil rigs is a confirmation that that incentive to cut production has waned. The necessary price decline should see that production is indeed pared back over the coming months. The potential lifting of sanctions against Iran should also weigh on oil prices in the near term. While a July 1st nuclear deal deadline passed with no agreement, a new deadline of 7th July has been set and talks are continuing. We expect high cost conventional oil producers to suffer the greatest loss in market share when prices fall, setting the scene for the nimble US shale oil industry to rebuild in due course. ETF securities long oil ETPs received US$49.3mn of inflows last week.

Profit-taking led to US$36.0mn outflows from long wheat ETPs. Wheat rallied close to 18% in 4 days, before paring gains to 10.1% for the week. A USDA report confirmed that wheat acreage planted this year will be lower than last year. The market took this very positively, although gains were pared once it was acknowledged that planting intentions (survey of farmers in March) had actually called for deeper cuts to growing. The profit-taking led to the largest weekly outflows in wheat ETPs since their inception in 2006. We believe that the strengthening El Niño weather pattern threatens to reduce global wheat production this year and opens further opportunities for investors to go long. El Niño tends to make the Asian sub-continent around India and Australia more dry than usual, which would crimp supplies from the large producing countries. Although the monsoon in India had gotten off to a brisk start in June, last week rain had slowed to below normal levels, the typical hallmark of the El Niño suppressing the monsoon.

Long nickel ETPs see largest inflows since November 2014 on the back of bargain hunting. Nickel fell 3.9% last week to a six-year low, mainly driven by technicals after the nickel breached the $12,000 psychological threshold. We believe that fundamentals will reassert. Declining nickel pig iron production in China, stronger demand from the European stainless steel market and reduced nickel ore availability will be key catalysts. Long nickel ETPs saw US$8.8mn inflows.

Key events to watch this week. Investors will continue to be distracted by the events unfolding in Greece after the ‘No’ vote in the referendum yesterday. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology will provide an El Niño update tomorrow.

Video Presentation

Nitesh Shah, Research Analyst at ETF Securities provides an analysis of last week’s performance, flow and trading activity in commodity exchange traded products and a look at the week ahead.

For more information contact

ETF Securities Research team
ETF Securities (UK) Limited
T +44 (0) 207 448 4336
E info@etfsecurities.com

Important Information

General

This communication has been provided by ETF Securities (UK) Limited (”ETFS UK”) which is authorised and regulated by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority.

This is a strictly privileged and confidential communication between ETFS UK and its selected client. This communication contains information addressed only to a specific individual and is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person other than the named addressee. This communication (i) is provided for informational purposes only, (ii) should not be construed in any manner as any solicitation or offer to buy or sell any securities or any related financial instruments, and (iii) should not be construed in any manner as a public offer of any securities or any related financial instruments. If you are not the named addressee, you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this communication. Please notify the sender immediately if you have mistakenly received this communication. When being made within Italy, this communication is for the exclusive use of the ”qualified investors” and its circulation among the public is prohibited.

This document is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, an advertisement or any other step in furtherance of a public offering of shares in the United States or any province or territory thereof. Neither this document nor any copy hereof should be taken, transmitted or distributed (directly or indirectly) into the United States.

This document may contain independent market commentary prepared by ETFS UK based on publicly available information. ETFS UK does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or correctness of any information contained herein and any opinions related to product or market activity may change. Any third party data providers used to source the information in this communication make no warranties or representation of any kind relating to such data.

Any historical performance included in this document may be based on back testing. Back tested performance is purely hypothetical and is provided in this document solely for informational purposes. Back tested data does not represent actual performance and should not be interpreted as an indication of actual or future performance.

Historical performance is not an indication of or a guide to future performance.

The information contained in this communication is neither an offer for sale nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. This communication should not be used as the basis for any investment decision.

ETFS UK is required by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (”FCA”) to clarify that it is not acting for you in any way in relation to the investment or investment activity to which this communication relates. In particular, ETFS UK will not provide any investment services to you and or advise you on the merits of, or make any recommendation to you in relation to, the terms of any transaction. No representative of ETFS UK is authorised to behave in any way which would lead you to believe otherwise. ETFS UK is not, therefore, responsible for providing you with the protections afforded to its clients and you should seek your own independent legal, investment and tax or other advice as you see fit.

Risk Warnings

Any products referenced in this document are generally aimed at sophisticated, professional and institutional investors. Any decision to invest should be based on the information contained in the prospectus (and any supplements thereto) of the relevant product issue. The price of any securities may go up or down and an investor may not get back the amount invested. Securities may valued in currencies other than those in which there are priced and will be affected by exchange rate movements. Investments in the securities which provide a short and/or leveraged exposure are only suitable for sophisticated, professional and institutional investors who understand leveraged and compounded daily returns and are willing to magnify potential losses by comparison to investments which do not incorporate these strategies. Over periods of greater than one day, investments with a short and/or leveraged exposure do not necessarily provide investors with a return equivalent to a return from the unleveraged long or unleveraged short investments multiplied by the relevant leverage factor. Investors should refer to the section entitled ”Risk Factors” in the relevant prospectus for further details of these and other risks associated with an investment in any securities referenced in this communication.

If you have any questions please contact ETFS UK at +44 20 7448 4330 or info@etfsecurities.com for more information.