Market Update: Energy and Metals Prices Drop
Market Recap: October 8, 2024
Today’s we’re seeing some shifts in energy and metals prices, along with industrial production figures coming in. Central bank officials are also giving speeches, offering insights that could impact market direction.
Key Economic Events
- Germany’s Industrial Production: The August figures revealed mixed results. Year-on-year, industrial production fell by -2.7%, indicating continued struggles in the manufacturing sector. However, month-on-month, industrial production rose by 2.9%, surpassing expectations. This boost may provide some short-term optimism for the euro, but broader concerns about the German economy linger.
- U.S. Fed Speeches: Markets are closely watching speeches by U.S. Fed members, including Williams and Bostic, for insights into future policy direction, particularly regarding inflation and interest rates.
Energy Update
- Crude Oil: Oil prices have seen a decline today, with Brent trading at 79.65 USD/bbl, down -1.58%, and Crude Oil at 75.84 USD/bbl, down -1.68%. Despite this drop, oil has gained over 8% in the past week. This gain reflects overall bullish momentum. The momentum is driven by supply concerns and geopolitical risks.
- Natural Gas: Trading at 2.74 USD/MMBtu, natural gas is relatively steady with a slight -0.05% decline. Over the past month, gas prices have surged by 26.47%, but they are still down -24.41% year-on-year, highlighting market volatility.
Metals Update
- Gold: Gold prices are holding steady at 2641.43 USD/t.oz, down only -0.06% for the day. While slightly weaker this week, the yellow metal has gained 41.95% year-on-year, acting as a hedge against broader market uncertainty.
- Copper: Copper saw a decline of -2.39%, trading at 4.41 USD/Lbs, as concerns about global demand weigh on the metal. Despite this, copper remains up 13.52% year-to-date, signaling strong demand from industrial sectors.
Currency Movements
- EUR/USD: The euro is slightly up, trading at 1.09822, with a 0.07% increase on the day. However, the pair remains down -0.73% for the week, with mixed data from the Eurozone weighing on sentiment.
- GBP/USD: The pound is largely flat, trading at 1.30866, up by a modest 0.02%. Concerns over the UK’s economic outlook continue to suppress sterling, with the pair down -1.40% for the week.
- USD/JPY: The yen has seen some strength today, with the pair down -0.16%, trading at 147.899. However, the yen remains under pressure as it has gained 2.89% for the week, reflecting ongoing economic concerns in Japan.
- USD/CAD: The Canadian dollar is down slightly against the USD, trading at 1.36354, with a 0.11% increase on the day, amid rising oil prices supporting the loonie.
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