Copper futures declined during European morning hours on Monday, as
focus remained squarely on the U.S. economic outlook and how U.S.
lawmakers will deal with the upcoming debt ceiling debate.
Some
profit taking also contributed to losses, after New York-traded copper
prices rallied to the highest level since mid-October last week.
On
the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures
for March delivery traded at USD3.666 a pound during European morning
trade, down 0.75% on the day.
New York-traded copper prices fell
by as much as 1% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD3.657 a
pound. Futures rose to USD3.758 on January 3, the strongest level since
October 18.
Copper futures rallied last week after U.S.
lawmakers passed a last-minute bill to avoid the fiscal cliff, a series
of looming tax increases and spending cuts that could have pushed the
U.S. economy back into a recession.
Focus was expected to remain
on the U.S. economy, as investors remained jittery over the
Crude oil futures were lower during European morning trade on Monday, as
focus remained on the U.S. economic outlook and how U.S. lawmakers will
deal with the upcoming debt ceiling debate.
Some profit taking
also contributed to losses, after New York-traded oil prices rallied to
the highest level since mid-September last week.
On the New York
Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in February
traded at USD92.59 a barrel during European morning trade, down 0.5% on
the day.
New York-traded oil prices fell by as much as 0.6%
earlier in the session to trade at a daily low of USD92.56 a barrel. Oil
futures touched USD93.82 a barrel on January 2, the strongest level
since September 19.
New York-traded oil futures climbed 2.5% last
week, the fourth consecutive weekly gain and the biggest advance in
nearly three months.
Oil prices kicked off 2013 with sharp gains,
after U.S. lawmakers passed a last-minute bill to avoid the
Gold futures edged higher during European morning trade on Monday, as
investors considered the outlook for Federal Reserve policy while focus
remained squarely on the U.S. economy.
On the Comex division of
the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery
traded at USD1,655.15 a troy ounce during European morning trade, up
0.4% on the day.
Prices rose by as much as 0.8% earlier in the
session to hit a daily high of USD1,662.55 a troy ounce. Gold futures
fell to USD1,626.05 a troy ounce on January 4, the lowest level since
August 21.
Gold prices were likely to find support at USD1,626.05
a troy ounce, the low from January 4 and resistance at USD1,690.55,
January 3’s high.
Gold futures tumbled to a four-month low in the
previous session after the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December
meeting indicated that the central bank could end its bond-buying
program earlier than expected.
According to the minutes, several
Fed officials thought the central bank would be able to slow or stop its
quantitative easing program well before December 2013.
Moves in
the gold price over the past year have largely tracked shifting
expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would pump more money
into the financial system.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of
Labor said the economy added 155,000 jobs in December, easing from an
increase of 161,000 in November. The unemployment rate held steady at
7.8%.
The Fed’s December minutes said monetary policy will remain
accommodative “at least as long” as the jobless rate remains above
6.5%.
Meanwhile, focus remained on how U.S. lawmakers will deal with the upcoming debt ceiling debate.
U.S.
lawmakers passed a last-minute bill to avoid the fiscal cliff last
week, a series of looming tax increases and spending cuts that could
have pushed the U.S. economy back into a recession.
But investors
remained jittery over the longer term fiscal outlook, with negotiations
on raising the U.S. debt ceiling still to come in February.
A
stronger U.S. dollar limited any significant gains. The dollar index,
which tracks the performance of the greenback against a
Silver jewelery sales in Pakistan gained momentum after higher gold prices along with higher tax levied on buying gold.
According to All Sindh Sarafa Association sale of silver items at
jewelery shops soared to a new high and keen business in silver was also
seen in select parts of the country.
Consumers are forced to buy silver as it is considered “the next best
thing”, they said. Similar to big neighbor India, silver prices in
Pakistan climb steeply at the beginning of the festive season and also
during the wedding season.
The main reason behind this is
Gold futures rose modestly in the early part of Monday’s Asian session after touching a four-month low last Friday as traders are still weighing the impact of the most recent U.S. jobs report and the possibility that the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing program will come to an end this year. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery gained 0.66% to USD1,659.45 per troy ounce in Asian trading Monday. Bullion traded as high as USD1,660.05 and as low as USD1,655.95 per ounce.
After falling 0.3% last week, gold prices were likely to find support at USD1,626.05 a troy ounce, Friday’s low and a 19-week low and
Oil futures fell modestly in the early part of Monday’s Asian session, paring last week’s gains that saw crude rally 2.55%. That performance was good for the fourth consecutive weekly gain.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for February delivery fell 0.08% to USD93.02 per barrel. That small retrenchment comes after rose 0.2% Friday to settle the week at USD93.08 a barrel by close of trade. Crude futures flirted with the USD94 per barrel level last Wednesday.
Oil prices turned higher after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 11.1 million barrels last week, compared to expectations for a decline of 0.9 million barrels.
Oil was also bolstered by a decent U.S. jobs report, which showed the world’s largest economy added 155,000 new jobs in December. That number was slightly ahead of economists’ expectations, but the unemployment rate also rose modestly to 7.8% from 7.7%. The U.S. is the world’s largest oil-consuming nation by a wide margin and signs of a pickup in economic activity there are viewed as a
