U.S. Treasury funds rack up big gains on bond rally

Some of the world's biggest money managers, including PIMCO and Vanguard, have profited handsomely from the surprisingly steady drop in U.S. Treasury bond yields.  On Thursday, benchmark 10-year Treasuries yields fell to a historic low of 1.5326 percent, according to Tradeweb. The previous low was in November 1945 when yields ended that month at 1.55 percent.  Thirty-year Treasury bond yields briefly touched the lowest level since December 2008. The long bonds set a record low yield of 2.52 percent on December 19, 2008.  It's become sport to declare the 30-year bull market in bonds over, and yet interest rates continue to fall in the United States and in other countries recognized as "safe havens," including Germany, the Netherlands, Japan and Switzerland.

Yen Buyers Shouldn't Be Scared Of Intervention Yet

Buying yen may not be such a bad bet after all.  The Japanese economy may be a mess and the government may still threaten intervention.  But flows into the currency are not about to abate; not as global growth prospects ratchet down and Japan becomes even more of a safe haven for international and domestic investors.  With the euro at an 11-year low and the dollar now within spitting distance of its all-time low at Y75.30, the yen has been climbing for about 5 years. Back in June 2007, the dollar had been up at a high of Y124.14.  So ...

Gold vaults 4 percent for biggest 1-day rise in 3 years

Gold surged 4 percent on Friday, its biggest one-day rise in more than three years, as a surprisingly weak U.S. payrolls report added to fears about a global economic slowdown and fuelled talk of further U.S. monetary easing.  The precious metal fell in early trading, then rebounded $60 an ounce from its session low as funds piled into gold for protection against economic uncertainty after the U.S. unemployment rate rose for the first time in 11 months.

Investors rush to bonds on economy fears

Yields on U.S. and European debt fell to record lows Friday and stock markets plunged after a weak U.S. jobs report aggravated fear of a global slump and sent investors scurrying for safety.  The data, which showed U.S. job growth at its weakest in a year, underscored a growing sense that the U.S. economy is not immune to weakness in Europe, where Spain is struggling to support its banks, or to slower growth in China.  U.S. and European stock indexes fell sharply, with the U.S. benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index sliding more than 2 percent, while crude oil hit a 16-month low of less than $98 per barrel.

Sugar, Coffee Extend Slumps to Lowest Since 2010; Cocoa Declines

Sugar and coffee futures extended slumps to the lowest since 2010 on concern that the sluggish global economy will curb demand for raw materials. Cocoa also declined.  In May, U.S. employers added the fewest workers in a year, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed to 8.2 percent, and a drop in China’s manufacturing led declines across Asia, reports showed today. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 raw materials fell to the lowest in almost eight months, led by energy.  “Basically, the reaction is to the weak unemployment data in the U.S. and manufacturing in China,” Jack Scoville, a vice president at Price Futures Group in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “There’s no reason to be bullish.’

May 29, 2012 Current Commitments of Traders Charts

Current Commitments of Traders Charts

Based on CFTC weekly report.
(Weekly as of October 2000.)
31 May 11 - 29 May 12

Commodity Index Extends Slide to Lowest Since October

Commodities extended their decline, touching the lowest level in almost eight months, after U.S. employers created fewer jobs than economists estimated and Chinese manufacturing slowed.
The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index fell 2.1 percent to 583.49 at 12:35 p.m. in New York, after touching 578.35, the lowest level since Oct. 4. The index has dropped 6 percent this week, heading for a fifth straight decline and the biggest since September. Natural gas, crude oil and gasoline led the losses.

Mostly lower wheat, soybean prices Friday

The CME Group corn, soybean and wheat markets can be expected to trade mixed Friday. The Early Calls for the commodities on Friday, June 1, 2012, are mostly lower. Corn is seen opening 1-2 cents higher, soybeans 7-8 cents lower, and wheat 3-5 cents lower. In overnight trading, the July corn futures contract traded 3 3/4 cents higher at $5.59 per bushel. July soybean futures traded 9 cents lower at $13.31 per bushel, and July wheat traded 3 cents lower at $6.40 1/2. For July soybean meal futures, the contract traded $1.80 per short ton lower at $392.70. July soybean oil futures traded $0.59 lower at $48.61.

SOFTS-ICE sugar hits 21-month low as commodities fall

Raw sugar futures on ICE slid to a 21-month low early, weighed by abundant global supplies and weakness in other commodity markets. Cocoa futures on ICE were also lower although arabica coffee edged up after equalling the prior session's 22-month low early...

Bountiful Harvest Sending Wheat Futures Down

Wheat prices are being ground down by expectations for a big U.S. crop.  Farmers across the U.S., the world's largest wheat exporter, have begun harvesting their main wheat crop of the year at a time when global stockpiles are at historically high levels. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that the harvest, likely to wrap up in July, will be one of the biggest in the past decade at 1.69 billion bushels, 13% bigger than last year.  The prospect of strong yields in Kansas, the country's top grower of wheat harvested in the spring, and in other key states like...

Raw Sugar Reaches Lowest Price Since 2010 as Surplus Expands

Raw sugar fell to the lowest level since 2010 in New York as the harvest in Brazil, the world’s largest grower, added to speculation of another surplus next season. Coffee and cocoa retreated.  Brazil’s center-south, which accounts for 90 percent of the country’s sugar production, is harvesting the crop that will be part of the 2012-13 season. Global sugar production will exceed demand by 4.6 million metric tons in that period, the third consecutive surplus, according to Rabobank International.

U.S. Stocks Sink on Jobs Report

Stocks fell sharply after the U.S. government's closely watched jobs report badly missed expectations, compounding concerns about slowing global growth.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 160 points, or 1.3%, to 12218 in early Friday trading. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index declined 18 points, or 1.4%, to 1292, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 39 points, or 1.4%, to 2785.  The Dow industrials rose 8.1% in the first three months of this year, their biggest first-quarter percentage advance since 1998, but over the last month those gains have unraveled. The Dow was flat for the year in early trading.