Commodities Are Running Higher Today

Posted Jan 4th 2010 2:20PM by Connie Madon
Filed under: International Markets, Market Matters, Commodities, Oil, Agriculture

We are back riding the bull today in commodities. The dollar is down with the March futures contract trading at 77.89, down 0.33.

Crude oil is trading at a high of $81.16 per barrel in the February West Texas contract, up $1.64. Brent crude is up $1.70 to $77.63 per barrel.

The metals are higher with LME (London Metals Exchange) copper up 1.3% to $7,525 per ton, triggered by a strike at a copper mine in northern Chile.

Aluminum rose 1.3% to $2,275 per ton. Zinc is up 1.9% $2,625 per ton. Nickel traded at $19,075 per ton, up 1.2%. Lead added 2.2% to $2,494 per ton and tin was up 3.1% to $17,400 per ton.

Precious metals are rallying. February gold is trading at $1,118.60 per ounce, up $22.40 per ounce (each $1.00 equals $100) and March silver is trading at $17.245 per ounce up 40 cents (each 1 cent equals $50). January platinum is up $35.80 per ounce at $1,495 per ounce. Palladium is also up $13.45 per ounce at $422.30 per ounce.

Sugar is roaring ahead to new highs due to a shortage of supply. ICE March sugar is up 1.8% to 27.42 cents a pound.

Grains are powering upward, partly due to the bad weather in the Midwest which is hampering the final stages of crop harvest. On the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) March corn is up 8.5 cents to $4,23 a bushel. March wheat is up 15 cents to $5.56 per bushel and January soybeans are up 12 cents to $10.53 per bushel.

Looking back to 2009, it was the weak dollar that sparked the rally in commodities. This trend is continuing into the new year. We can thank the Fed for keeping interest rates "low for an extended period." This was the green light for commodity traders. Buy, buy buy!

How long the rally continues is unknown. For now, traders are riding the bull.

Would you buy commodity futures and follow the trend?

Tags: cbot, commodities, gold, inthenews, rally in commodities, sugar, weak dollar

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

1-04-2010 @ 11:31PM

Peter Van Schaik said...

This is hardly the return of a commodity bull market. I wrote on BloggingStocks on December 1, 2009 "...there are reasons for the price of gold to falter." On December 2nd I wrote "Buy gold with caution..." Gold was over $1,200 an ounce then, it's a bit over $1,100 now. Nothing has really changed. The recovery will be slow, cash will be king, and commodities will remain under pressure. At some point the market makers will realise we need inflation to survive and rallies are a great time to sell. http://jpetervanschaik.googlepages.com