Written by Sumit Roy  |

August 03, 2012

Week In Review: Oil Hits 3-Month High After Jobs Report, Fed & ECB Disappoint Gold Bulls, NatGas Retreats

Details

We examine the latest developments in commodity markets and the week's performance.

Commodities ended narrowly mixed on the week as a whole, but there was plenty of action during the period. News flow was heavy, with plenty of fodder for both bears and bulls, but in the end, the optimists gained the upper hand.

Stocks rose less than 1 percent on the week to three-month highs as measured by the S&P 500.

Macroeconomic Highlights

Anticipation of the Federal Reserve and European central bank decisions on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, dominated trading action during the early part of the week. Traders had high hopes that the two most important central banks in the world would take decisive action to support economic growth.

But central bankers failed to deliver, promising to take action down the line if necessary. That pressured risk assets during the middle part of the week, but the sell-off wasn’t very dramatic.

Then on Friday, sentiment was lifted after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in July. Nonfarm payrolls in the month grew by 163K, well above the anticipated 100K.

The unemployment rate ticked up slightly from 8.2 to 8.3 percent, as more workers entered the labor market.

Commodity Wrap