London Stocks Close Firmly Lower

FTSE 100 ends 1% lower at 5871.51. Earlier, reaction to the ECB’s second LTRO was fairly muted. “Unfortunately for those looking for this injection to give us an immediate charge at 6000, there has been no such luck,” trader says. Continue Reading…

May wheat was trading 4 1/2 cents higher late in the overnight session. Outside market forces look slightly positive today. Most of the news flow for wheat continues to hold a bearish tilt but funds have been active buyers in the past few sessions and this has helped to provide solid support for the strong rally. Continue Reading…

May soybeans were trading 2 cents higher late in the overnight session. China futures closed slightly lower overnight and palm oil futures in Malaysia closed 0.8% lower. Asian equity markets were higher overnight feeding off the upcoming European LTRO injection. Continue Reading…

April natural gas prices established a lower low during the early morning hours but have managed to hold above the February 2nd low of $2.50. There are little prospects for a boost in heat-related demand for natural gas out into March 9th and ongoing concerns over record high US storage levels remain the key negatives over the market. Continue Reading…

The April gold contract managed a slight rise in the wake of the LTRO results and that suggests the trade was attempting to embrace a risk on mentality. The bull camp might suggest that the liquidity move provides the gold market with fresh support and the flow of scheduled data from the US today might quickly take control over gold prices. Continue Reading…

For the second day in a row, outside market forces are positive but the market is under selling pressures overnight due to continued talk of the overbought condition of the market, weakness in London and fears of a supply surplus for the coming season. Continue Reading…

While March copper initially managed an upside breakout on the charts overnight, the range was rather large and that could embolden the bears technically in the event that copper prices fall back toward unchanged levels through the US scheduled data window later this morning. Continue Reading…

May cocoa has been unable to hold early gains this morning as prices are holding close to this week’s lows. Today’s initially lukewarm reception to the European Central Bank’s Longer-Term Refinancing Operation may be dampening overall market sentiment but a tight supply situation in West Africa is helping to underpin cocoa prices
within their recent trading range. Continue Reading…

While US Treasuries showed some weakness overnight in the lead up to the European LTRO offering, Treasury prices did manage some minimal recovery action in the wake of the liquidity effort results. Continue Reading…

The market saw a nice recovery off of last weeks lows but the upside appears limited due to a heavy supply outlook. The oversold condition of the market plus better than expected demand from China and from trade houses on the move under 90.00 helped to support. Continue Reading…