Commodities Market Roundup May 24, 2022:
Energy
Late in today’s trading session, as FintechZoom described in Commodities 23 May, RBOB gasoline futures dropped sharply after the White House issued a statement suggesting it is considering lifting all EPA regulations to lower gas prices. The same administration has reached out to Venezuela and allowed Chevron (NYSE: CVX) to help them produce some of the world’s dirtiest oil while fumbling around with leases for oil and gas and slowing down permitting domestic producers. Some of them are the cleanest producers on the planet. We hope that the environment can tolerate the damage that green energy policies like Biden’s are causing.
Brent
In Tuesday’s trading, Brent crude futures rose by 87 cents, or 0.7%, to $113.42. Oil prices went up on Tuesday, making up for earlier losses. Concerns about a possible recession and China’s COVID-19 curbs were outweighed by a tight supply and an expected rise in demand during the summer driving season in the US. This year, oil prices have gone up. In March, Brent hit $139, which was its highest price since 2008 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, making supply worries even worse. Nonetheless, worries about threats to the global economy—which were the main themes of this week’s Davos gathering—were behind the falls in prices earlier on Tuesday.
Crude oil
At the time of writing, crude futures had increased by 1 cent on the day to $110.02/b. In early European trading on May 24, crude oil prices went up and down, but they stayed near the top of the range they’ve been in recently. People are worried about a global recession, and Chinese lockdowns are still going on. Even though there isn’t a lot of supply around the world, China’s COVID-19 lockdowns have slowed down industrial and social activities, making demand less of a problem. Many infections have been recorded in Beijing, leading to market speculation that the government may impose stricter measures. The zero COVID-19 policy is why a few investment banks have downgraded China’s growth outlook for 2022. In general, tight global supply kept crude prices from falling too far. The main things discussed at the World Economic Forum in Davos during the week starting May 22 were the state of the world economy and its threats.
Natural gas
The open interest in the natural gas futures markets continued its downward trend for the fourth session by just 688 contracts. The volume, on the other hand, increased by 38.9K contracts. We remain on track to reach $9.00 for natural gas. Today’s sharp increase in natural gas prices occurred amid a decline in open interest, suggesting the rebound is nearing its end. Meanwhile, natural gas is still on pace to surpass the peak price of 2022, at around $9.00 per MMBtu (May 6), very soon.
Precious metals
Silver and gold prices were moderately up in early US trading Tuesday, thanks to the sharp decline in the US dollar index that reached another four-week low overnight. Furthermore, US Treasury yields have fallen recently, positive for the precious metals market. Silver and gold are also beginning to see their near-term technical postures improve, likely influencing some new chart-based buying interest. The June gold contract last rose $9.80 to $1,857.40. Silver futures last gained $0.207 at $21.93 per ounce on the Comex.
Gold
Gold prices were gaining in anticipation of the report’s release and remained relatively unchanged in reaction to it. Yesterday’s gold futures price was $1,865.2 per ounce, up nearly 1%.
The gold market is not showing much momentum after the disappointing housing report. Gold futures for June traded at $1,861 per ounce, up 0.71% from the previous day.
Agriculture
Malaysia’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI) says that the government will speed up and make it easier for poultry breeders to get direct subsidies to fix chicken supply problems. In a statement on Tuesday (May 24), the ministry said that more ministry workers would be sent to the states to speed up the review of the breeders’ applications.
Corn
Earlier this morning, wheat traded higher overnight but then turned lower, taking corn and soybeans. A factor today is the US weather outlook, which is generally favorable. US stocks have plunged sharply, and the Dow has fallen as much as 450 points. The commodity markets have now become risk-averse.
Corn prices in July are down 15 cents at midday, while those in December are down 17 cents. Prices have fallen 8 cents for the week as a whole.
