Gold Seesaws Between Dovish Fed and Upbeat Jobs Report

ETF Securities Gold Seesaws Between Dovish Fed and Upbeat Jobs ReportGold Seesaws Between Dovish Fed and Upbeat Jobs Report

Commodity ETP Weekly – Gold Seesaws Between Dovish Fed and Upbeat Jobs Report

  • Positive inflows into Gold ETPs resume after dovish comments by Fed Chair Yellen helped gold post its highest (16.1%) quarterly rise in 30 years. However the positive beat in payrolls might see a reversal in trend.
  • Declining US crude oil production helps reverse four consecutive weeks of outflows as investors plough into WTI crude oil ETPs.
  • Fall in production in world’s largest copper mining producer help revive inflows into copper ETPs.

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Dovish comments by Fed chair Yellen help revive positive inflows into gold ETPs. Gold prices caught a fresh bid after a more cautious policy trajectory was inferred from Fed chair Yellen’s comments early in the week boosting inflows into gold ETPs by $96.7mn. Furthermore the Fed Chair remained unsure of the durability of the recent spike in inflation reinforcing a more gradual rate normalization path in the US. However we believe the positive beat in payrolls data provides evidence of economic resilience that could allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates more often than projected, thereby avoiding a policy error. Silver ETPs also benefited in Gold’s slipstream recording inflows for the 6th consecutive week worth $9.2mn.

Energy ETPs attract strong inflows, led by WTI crude oil. After four consecutive weeks of outflows, WTI crude oil ETPs received positive inflows worth $19.9mn. This is reflective of declining US crude oil production for the fourth month in a row. We expect this decline to continue since drilling activity has been lacklustre with 30% active oil rigs idled over the past 14 weeks. On the other hand oil production by OPEC has risen by 100,000 barrels per day in March owing to Iran and Iraq. The pre-condition laid out by Saudi Arabia to freeze output subject to Iran and other major producers following suit is casting doubts on the ability of these nations to reach an agreement at the next Doha meeting scheduled on April 17. We expect oil prices to trade a volatile range on the back of acrimonious decision making over the capping of oil production limits by OPEC though declining US oil production may help alleviate sharp price drops.

Copper ETPs attract $10.2mn of inflows amid declining production in Chile. According to data from Chile’s (the world’s largest copper mining producer) National Statistics Institute (INE), about 450,000 tons of copper were produced in February, marking a 7% decline in production for the first two months of the year.

Coffee ETPs garner $5.7mn inflows on the back of dry weather conditions. The probability of a deficit in the coffee crop is becoming increasingly likely due to the ongoing dry conditions in Vietnam, Columbia and parts of Brazil. Interestingly the recent appreciation of the producer’s currencies against the US dollar is providing some relief to the pricing pressure faced in the international market however there is no assurance of how long this could last.

Key events to watch this week. Purchasing Managers’ Indices (PMI) for the US, China and UK this week will offer further signs of a slowdown in the services sector. After setting the stage for a more gradual rate normalization path by Fed chair Yellen, investors will focus on the minutes of the March meeting on Wednesday for clues on the timing of the next rate rise. While Thursday sees the unveiling of the minutes of the ECBs March meeting.

Video Presentation

Aneeka Gupta, 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

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Jobs data keeps Fed on track for rate hikes this year

Jobs data keeps Fed on track for rate hikes this year

ETFS Multi-Asset Weekly – Jobs data keeps Fed on track for rate hikes this year

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Highlights


•    Oil prices continue to slide.
•    European bourses generally traded higher although Greek stocks were heavily hit after the reopening of its market.
•    Commodity currencies diverge.

Declining oil prices led the commodity sector lower, with a swelling glut in production weighing on price. We believe that the current low oil price environment will encourage high cost producers to cut back on production, paving the way for price gains in the future. An appreciating US dollar maintained pressure on the commodity complex more generally. With 215,000 jobs added to the US economy in July, the Federal Reserve is likely to remain on track for an interest rate hike later this year. Consensus expectations are for a September hike, although the futures market is looking further out in the year for the central bank to pull the trigger.

Commodities

Oil prices continue to slide. WTI and Brent crude oil benchmarks fell 8.0% and 7.1% respectively to the lowest levels since March and January. The global supply glut shows little sign of relenting. US oil rigs in operation have increased three weeks in a row. OPEC’s monthly report due tomorrow is likely to confirm that Saudi Arabia has continued to increase production beyond 10.5mn barrels per day, adding more oil to an oversupplied market in it pursuit for market share. As the summer driving season in the US starts to wind down and refineries undergo maintenance before the winter period, demand for crude is likely to hit a lull, weighing on price in the short-term. Current conditions are likely to drive the cuts in capex to high-cost non-US, non-OPEC production, helping to tighten supply in the future. Wood Mackenzie estimates US$200bn of capex cuts across the industry, primarily in deep-sea production.

Equities

European bourses generally traded higher although Greek stocks were heavily hit after the reopening of its market. The Greek Stock Exchange re-opened after a five-week hiatus, allowing investors to sell their holdings. Greek stocks fell an initial 23% on Monday, before trimming losses to just 16% by Friday. European manufacturing purchasing managers indices surprised to the upside, lifting investor sentiment about the pace of the economic recovery. The DAX, FTSE MIB and FTSE100 gained 2.7%, 1.8% and 1.3% respectively. MSCI China A-Shares ended the week 0.4% higher as the market responded to the equity market support offered by the government. An estimated US$144bn has been spent by the government on supporting the market and we believe a considerable amount of resources are available to the China Securities Finance Corp, the state-owned margin lending agency that is the main conduit for injecting rescue funds into the market.

Currencies

Commodity currencies diverge. The Australian dollar increased 1.0% against the US dollar after the Reserve Bank of Australian left rates on hold at 2%. Despite disappointing economic data amid weak resource prices, a buoyant property market is driving the RBA’s reluctance to cut rate too far, especially as the efficacy of further cuts is likely to decline as we reach the zero bound. Falling oil prices weighed on oil exporting countries, with the Norwegian Krone and the Canadian dollar dropping 1.4% and 1.0% respectively against the US dollar. We expect the CAD and NOK to outperform AUD and NZD in months ahead as the oil price begins to recover. The US dollar rallied against most currencies, with the latest labour market data giving fuel for the Federal Reserve to hit the trigger on rate increases later this year. The Bank of Japan remained dovish at its latest policy meeting, helping the Yen depreciate.

For more information contact:

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

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Billig naturgas och dyr olja? Vi reder ut frågetecknen

Billig naturgas och dyr olja? Vi reder ut frågetecknen

Oljepriset sett utifrån Nordsjöoljan (Brent) och  den nordamerikanska oljan (Crude WTI) har fortsatt att utvecklas olika. Uppgången i år är 4,6 procent respektive en nedgång om 3,7 procent. Oljepriset ”peakade” dock i år på nivåer omkring 125 USD per fat (Brent) respektive över 100 USD/fat ((Crude WTI). Vid detta tillfälle pratade många om en oljebubbla. Prisutvecklingen för naturgas har varit något helt annan. I år har priset på naturgas sjunkit med 4,6 procent, omräknat till svenska kronor. Detta efter en prisuppgång på över 50 procent under den senaste månaden, se nedan grafer och tabell.

[table id=364 /]

 

Källa: Factset, 23 maj 2012, all avkastning i SEK

För att kunna uttala mig om huruvida olja eller naturgas är billig eller dyr kommer jag att göra en relativ värdering mellan dessa båda tillgångar. Till min hjälp har jag använt mig av de välkända ETF:erna United States Oil Fund LP (ticker USO) och United States Natural Gas Fund LP (ticker UNG). USO följer utvecklingen i NYMEX futureskontrakt för West Texas Intermediate (WTI). UNG följer utvecklingen i NYMEX futureskontrakt för naturgas. Nedan är utvecklingen för dessa båda ETF:er illustrerade. Grafen säger allt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Källa: Factset, avser perioden 20 maj 2011 – 21 maj 2012, lokal valuta

Kvoten mellan ETF:erna USO och UNG var uppe över 2,5x innan pendeln slog tillbaka. Medianen det senaste året uppgår till 1,2x. Huruvida oljepriset var en bubbla eller om naturgaspriset var undervärderat är svårare att besvara. Att relationen inte var uthållig var dock solklart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Källa: Factset, avser perioden 20 maj 2011 – 21 maj 2012

I USA har man börjat tillämpa en ny teknik för att utvinna naturgas ”shale gas” eller på svenska skiffergas. Denna nya teknik har kortfattat inneburit att beroendet av olja har minskat signifikant och att utvinningen av naturgas ökat. Detta har lett till en ökning av den amerikanska konsumtionen av naturgas. Detta är en av förklaringarna till att WTI Crude utvecklats sämre än Brent-oljan.

ETF-alternativ (noterade i USA)

[table id=366 /]

 

Källa: Factset, 23 maj 2012, all avkastning i SEK. AuM i miljoner kronor

UNG handlas i dagsläget i positiv trend medan samtliga oljeinstrument handlas i negativ trend. Ska man köpa något i dagsläget kan en mindre position i UNG vara något att fundera över.

 

Priset på olja rusar men vilket?

Priset på olja rusar men vilket?

Priset på olja rusar men vilket?. Det amerikanska oljepriset Crude Oil/WTI-priset har stigit kraftigt på senare tid. Uppgången den senaste månaden är cirka 17% omräknat till svenska kronor. Detta trots en negativ utveckling på börserna runt om i världen.

Skillnaden eller spreaden mellan det amerikanska crude oil priset och nordsjöoljan brent har dock minskat på senare tid. Oljepriset för brent är oförändrat den senaste månaden. Aktuellt spotpris är cirka 108,45 USD för brent och 99,45 USD för crude oil.

För en genomgång av ETF-utbudet, se länk till tidigare blogginlägg nedan.

 //www.etfsverige.se/etfbloggen/etfer/oljerally-sa-investerar-du-med-etfer

 

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