China's Crude Oil Futures Boom Amid Looming Iran Sanctions
A U.S. decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran is supporting China's newly established crude oil futures, and may spur efforts to start trading oil in yuan rather than dollars, traders and analysts said.Since launching in March, Shanghai crude oil futures have seen a steady pick-up in daily trading, while open interest - the number of outstanding longer-term positions and a gauge of institutional interest - has also surged.Traded daily volumes hit a record 250,000 lots last Wednesday…
Commodities See Biggest Price Jump in 3 Years
Commodities jumped on Friday, headed for their largest weekly gain in more than three years as base metals roared higher after Glencore pledged to slash zinc output and gold hit three-week highs after dovish Federal Reserve minutes. Surging metals offset a choppy oil market. Brent, the global benchmark, slipped on Friday under pressure from bargain hunting at the end of a big weekly increase. Base metals were "explosive" after Glencore's surprise announcement it will cut zinc output by 500,000 tonnes a year, removing 4 percent of global capacity, INTL FCStone analyst Ed Meir said. The news unleashed a wave of short covering across the London Metal Exchange as investors unwound bearish bets on weaker prices and ballooning oversupply as economic growth slows in China…
Port of New Orleans Sponsors Agricultural Summit
The Port of New Orleans has signed on as a sponsor for the 9th annual Oilseed & Grain Trade Summit, taking place here October 7-9, 2014, at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. The Summit is reportedly the largest annual industry event that convenes buyers, sellers and global leaders in the oilseed, protein meals, vegetable oils and feed grains sectors, and includes discussions on the challenges and opportunities of logistics and transportation in the agriculture sector. Port of New…
Ukraine Crisis Pushes up Gold, Oil, Grains
Gold, crude oil and grains surged on Monday while industrial metals slid as investors reacted to escalating tensions between Moscow and Kiev after the Russian military tightened its grip on Ukraine's Crimea region. Concern about supplies pushed up crude oil prices by more than $2 a barrel and wheat and corn by 4-6 percent. Safe-haven buying sent gold prices to four-month highs. Base metals such as copper fell along with shares as investors ditched higher-risk assets and due to worries that a conflict could damage global growth. "Trade sanctions and a general ratcheting up of global tensions could also endanger the fragile global economic recovery now under way, hurting commodity prices in the process," analyst Edward Meir at broker INTL FCStone said.
