August 17, 2012

Week In Review: NatGas At Critical Juncture, WTI Finally Outperforms Brent, Platinum Spikes On Strike

Details

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

Most commodities rose this week amid optimism about the health of the U.S. economy. Platinum and palladium were surprising outperformers thanks to labor disputes, while natural gas lagged.

Stocks, as measured by the S&P 500, rallied to the highest levels since early April, above 1415.

Macroeconomic Highlights

While there were no major economic releases this week, the data that did come out was encouraging. In the U.S., retail sales grew by 0.8 percent in July, well above the consensus estimate of 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, industrial production in the world's largest economy grew by 0.6 percent in the month, besting the anticipated 0.5 percent increase.

Building permits—seen as a forward-looking indicator on the U.S. housing market—jumped 6.8 percent to 812K units, the highest level in four years.

The U.S. consumer price index grew by 1.4 percent year-over-year in July, down from June's 1.7 percent rate. The core CPI (excluding food and energy) grew by 2.1 percent in the month, down from 2.2 percent. Relatively tame inflation rates may give the Federal Reserve more confidence to ease monetary policy further in the coming months.

Commodity Wrap