September 21, 2012

Week In Review: Only Gold Rises This Week As Traders Eye $1800 Resistance, Oil & Soybeans Plunge

Details

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

Commodities fell broadly after traders took profits following last week’s QE3-related surge. Only gold managed to eke out a gain, while platinum, oil and soybeans plummeted on commodity-specific news.

Stocks, as measured by the S&P 500, were close to unchanged. The stock index is up 16.4 percent year-to-date.

Macroeconomic Highlights

In this week’s macro news, Japan’s central bank joined the Fed in providing more monetary stimulus. The Bank of Japan expanded its asset-purchase fund from 45 trillion yen to 55 trillion ($700 billion). That's the equivalent of $130 billion of additional quantitative easing.

In the U.S., existing home sales jumped by 7.8 percent to 4.82 million units, well above the expected 4.56 million, and the highest level since May 2010.

On the bearish side, HSBC's China Manufacturing PMI for September ticked up from 47.6 to 47.8, remaining in contraction territory for an 11th-straight month.

The equivalent gauge for the eurozone ticked up from 45.1 to 46—its 13th-straight month below 50—the level that separates contraction from expansion.

Commodity Wrap