Morning all, Thanks James and Suzie111(Also thanks for all the helpfull links you supply us)
Oil, gold and silver slide again
By AAP | 30.12.2011 07:30 AM
A summary of trading in key commodities markets overseas:
ENERGY
Oil slid on Thursday, erasing earlier gains in thin pre-holiday trade, as traders tracked the strong dollar and awaited fresh inventories data in top consumer the United States.
New York's main contract light sweet crude for February delivery, known as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), fell 36 cents to $US99 per barrel in early afternoon trading.
Brent crude, which is used to price foreign oil varieties that are imported by US refineries, fell by 31 cents to $US107.25 per barrel in London.
The European single currency slumped on Thursday to the lowest dollar level in more than one year, as Italy's latest bond auction reignited fears over the eurozone crisis in volatile low-volume deals.
Just after midday, the euro tumbled to $US1.2858 - the lowest level since September 14, 2010. The unit also sank against the safe-haven Japanese yen, striking 100.06 yen - which was last seen in June 2001.
Traders keep a keen eye on the strong greenback, which makes dollar-priced crude more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies, like the euro. This tends to dampen oil demand and prices.
METALS
Gold fell more than one per cent on Thursday to its lowest level in nearly six months, as year-end liquidation by funds and early losses to the euro on debt fears pushed bullion into bear market territory.
The precious metal, which has recently moved in tandem with riskier assets, broke ranks with equities which rebounded after the previous day's decline.
Technical selling and the need for hedge funds to raise cash to meet client redemption at year-end triggered gold's decline which was exacerbated by thin holiday volume.
Spot gold fell 1.2 per cent to $US1,536.70 an ounce by 12:13 p.m. EST (1713 GMT). It has earlier hit a low of $US1,521.94, the weakest since July 6.
The metal has now lost more than 20 per cent of its value from its intraday record high of $US1,920.30 an ounce set on September 6, the common definition of a bear market.
US gold February futures dropped $US25.60 to $US1,538.50.
Silver fell 0.3 per cent to $US26.96 an ounce, sharply off its session low of $US26.19, which came within striking distance to a 13-month low.
Gold prices have recently been trading in lockstep with the euro, which fell below $US1.29 for the first time in 15 months as fear that Europe's debt crisis could worsen next year.
Copper fell on Thursday for a second straight day on a firm US dollar, investor caution over the euro zone sovereign debt crisis and worries about growth in big metals consumer China.
Copper has fallen around 23 per cent this year, after a 30 per cent gain in 2010 and a 140 per cent jump in 2009, as the euro zone debt crisis slowed credit and prompted investors to switch to safer assets including the US dollar.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange closed at $US7,425 a tonne from $US7,465 on Wednesday, extending a loss of 2.4 per cent from the previous session.
It went briefly into positive territory after US data showing pending sales of previously owned homes jumped to a 1-1/2 year high in November, adding to signs of a tentative recovery in the housing market. Copper is used extensively in building construction.
Another day of watching for this little black duck I think.
