Written by Sumit Roy  |

October 02, 2012

Market Wrap: Gold Edges Lower, NatGas Continues To Rise On Cold Weather, Grains Sink Amid Harvest Pressure

Details

Commodities put in mixed performance.

Commodities treaded water in today's session amid light news flow and as traders looked toward Friday's employment report in the United States. The nonfarm payrolls data for September is potentially the next big catalyst for markets.

The figures have taken on even more importance than in past months now that the Fed has stated that its monetary policy will be tied to the U.S. unemployment rate.

The U.S. Dollar Index fell by 0.15 percent to 79.7.

• Gold and silver edged lower, but remained in their narrow trading bands. The yellow metal was last trading down by $1.78, or 0.1 percent, to $1773.52, while the gray metal shed $0.08, or 0.22 percent, to $34.58.
  
  Platinum edged down by $1.5, or 0.09 percent, to $1678.25 and palladium rose by $6.25, or 0.97 percent, to $651.50.
  
  "The mood has been quiet, but it feels just a matter of time before $1,800 breaks," Edel Tully, a strategist at UBS, said.
  
  
• Crude oil fell modestly today, with Brent last trading down by $0.67, or 0.6 percent, to $111.52, while WTI lost $0.60, or 0.65 percent, to $91.88.
  
  "Gasoline had a huge run last week but it's starting to come off and it's putting pressure on crude," said Tariq Zahir, a commodity fund manager at Tyche Capital Advisors. "We are going to have some inventory build tomorrow. The euro is getting stronger and that could be supportive."
  
  
• Natural gas prices continued to rise today. Prices were last trading up by $0.05, or 1.44 percent, to $3.53/mmbtu—a fresh 10-month high.
  
  Weather forecasts continue to indicate that cooler-than-normal temperatures will dominate the U.S. during the middle and end of the month, which should lift demand for natural gas.
  
  
• The grain complex underperformed, as corn dropped $0.03, or 0.33 percent, to $7.55/bushel, while soybeans lost $0.27, or 1.75 percent, to $15.33 and wheat fell by $0.16, or 1.81 percent, to $8.68.
  
  According to the latest USDA data, the corn harvest in the U.S. is 54 percent complete, while the soybeans harvest is 41 percent complete. The pace of the soybeans harvest is the fastest on record.
  
  
• Copper was last trading up by $0.01, or 0.15 percent, to $3.79/lb on Comex.
  
  "It's money being put back into the market," said the head of sales at an LME trading company. "We're seeing plenty of CTA [commodity trade advisors] activity, certainly yesterday and the tail end of last week as well...we now see fresh longs in place."