Sure Shot Commodity Tips

Crude oil futures are trading below $88 mark in Asia electronic trades Monday following solid gains of 1% on Friday amid new hopes for progress on a deal for Greece and following the release of encouraging data out of Germany.

Light sweet crude futures for delivery in January are trading down 30 cents at $ 87.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, it settled higher by 1% at $88.28 a barrel. On the week, it gained 1.3%, the third consecutive weekly advance.

Market sentiment improved after Greece’s Finance Minister said the International Monetary Fund had relaxed its debt-cutting target for the country, suggesting lenders were closer to a deal for a vital aid tranche to be paid. However, other sources involved in the talks cautioned that the funding gap was far bigger than Greece has suggested.

Investor confidence also strengthened after the German Institute for Economic Research earlier said that its index of business confidence improved to 101.4 in November from a reading of 100.0 the previous month, beating expectations for a decline to 99.5.

In the coming week, market participants will be focusing on Monday’s meeting of the euro group of finance ministers to discuss unlocking Greece’s next aid installment. Traders will also monitor developments surrounding the looming “fiscal cliff” in the U.S., approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1.

MCX December crude oil futures may open today’s session near Rs 4900 levels with support around Rs 4870 and Rs 4830 levels.

MCX Natural Gas Tips

MCX Natural Gas futures are trading down in the early moves today, as the global prices linger in red, witnessing follow up selling after the correction in the last session. The US equity markets recorded a heavy sell off yesterday and pulled oil and metal counters in commodities along with it. The Dow dropped 300 points even as world stocks gained earlier in the day after Barack Obama won the second term of the US Presidency.
The Globex Natural gas futures for delivery in December failed to break above $3.60 levels for a second consecutive session and slipped in tune with US stocks and crude oil prices, which lost nearly 3%. The commodity now trades at US$ 3.550, down 2.8 cents per million British thermal units (mmbtu) or 0.78% on the day.

The US National Weather Service has noted in a recent update that a storm is expected to hit the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast US on Wednesday and Thursday, bringing cold weather to the region. Colder-than-normal winter temperatures increase the need for gas-fired electricity to heat homes, leading to a surge in demand for natural gas. The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for US gas consumption. Markets are eying further updates on the same.

The overall undertone is expected to be lax amid bearish undertone in Asian stocks and a rally in the US dollar. The US weekly inventories data is to be released later on today. Total US gas supplies stood at 3.908 trillion cubic feet, an all-time record that surpasses the previous peak of 3.852 trillion cubic feet reached last November. Stocks are 3.6% above a year ago and 7.1% above the five-year average for the week.

The Natural Gas prices topped out at a 10-month high of $3.85 per mmbtu in end October 2012. The prices had dropped to a low near $3.50 per mmbtu in first week of November and broke above $3.60 levels earlier in the week. Sentiments look weak given the sell off in equities as traders re assess the gains in risky assets after the Obama win. MCX Natural Gas futures are trading at Rs 194.20, down Rs 1 per mmbtu on the day or 0.51%

Sure Shot Commodity Tips

As per the latest updates from the Spices Board of India, the average prices of cardamom in the auction held at South Indian Green Cardamom Company Ltd, Kochi on Tuesday (as on 30th October 2012) stood at Rs 761.32 and maximum price was at Rs 888 per kg. The arrivals and offtakes stood at 22548 kg and 20541 kg respectively.
The average price in the previous auction was Rs 721.93 per kg, meanwhile arrivals and offtakes stood at 7027 kg and 4625 kg respectively.

Comex Gold Updates

COMEX Gold futures yet again slipped towards their one month lows of $1715 per ounce as the selling pressure stayed in place amid mixed undertone in global equities and strength in US dollar. The greenback is quoting in a positive manner after losing slightly yesterday and neared 1.3000 levels against the Euro yet again today. The currency had slipped after a local election in Spain saw Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's party holding on to power in his home region of Galicia. The greenback had neared 1.3100 levels before this news hit the streets. COMEX Gold futures for December are quoting at $1720.45, down $5.85 per ounce on the day.

Global markets shriveled yesterday on world economic worries. The Japanese exports tumbled by 10.3% in the year to September, recording a drop for fourth consecutive month. This was the biggest drop in the measure for nearly 18 months. This hurt the sentiments on worries that the global economy is extending its weak run and demand for copper might slow in near term.

Further, the German central bank stated that there are increasing signs that a perceptible expansion of economic growth in the third quarter of 2012 will be followed by stagnation or even a slight decrease in gross domestic product in the final quarter of the year. In the final quarter of 2012, the German growth is likely to slow substantially as economic weakness in a number of Eurozone countries puts the brakes on growth.

Gold has been hit hard in the last few days as highs near $1800 per ounce proved unsustainable and weak Chinese demand hurt the sentiments. Mainland Chinese imports of gold from Hong Kong slowed dramatically in August. Hong Kong shipments of the metal to Mainland China for the month totaled 54 tons, a drop of 29% from the 76 tons shipped in July, according to data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department.

COMEX Gold has dropped nearly 80 dollars in last two and half weeks and could witness some buying at the present levels. The local MCX Gold futures are trading at Rs 30979, down Rs 89 per 10 grams on the day. Prices had dropped more than Rs 200 on the day yesterday. The counter has been witnessing a persistent rise in the open interest, which is up 4.64% on the day so far today.