Why Oil Reached a 3-Year High
On January 4, 2018, US crude oil (USO) (USL) February 2018 futures rose 0.6% and closed at $62.01 per barrel—a three-year high.
Miscellaneous
Reading Key Mining Stock Technicals as of December
Most of the mining companies have increased during the past two weeks due to the rise of gold and silver.
Understanding the Recent Gold-Platinum Cross Rate
When analyzing platinum markets, it’s important to compare the metal’s performance with that of gold, which is the most crucial of the precious metals.
What Mining Stocks’ Indicators at the End of December Tell Us
Agnico, Randgold, Yamana, and Barrick have call implied volatilities of 24.3%, 21.1%, 38.8%, and 22.8%, respectively.
Which Oil ETFs Might Be a Better Bet in 2018?
On December 29, 2017, the closing prices of US crude oil futures contracts between March 2018 and January 2019 were progressively lower.
Natural Gas ETFs to Watch in 2018
On December 29, 2017, the closing prices of natural gas futures contracts between March 2018 and May 2018 were progressively lower.
US Crude Oil Closed at 2017 High: Will the Ride Continue?
On December 22–29, US crude oil (USO) (USL) February futures rose 3.3%. On December 29, US crude oil February 2018 futures closed at $60.42 per barrel.
Aconex Acquisition Could Boost Oracle’s Position in Construction Sector
Though both Aconex and Textura cater to the construction industry, there is only a small overlap between them.
How Much Fall in Inventories Could Support Oil This Week?
In the week ended December 22, 2017, US crude oil inventories were 431.9 MMbbls (million barrels), a fall of 4.6 MMbbls compared to the previous week.
Should Oil Traders Follow US Oil Exports in 2018?
On December 29, 2017, the price difference between Brent crude oil (BNO) active futures and WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude oil (USO) (UCO) active futures was $6.45.
Will the US Dollar Help Crude Oil Bulls or Bears in 2018?
The US Dollar Index fell 0.5% to 92.12 on December 29, 2017—the fourth consecutive day of losses. It’s near a three-month low.
Why Oil Traders Are Tracking US Gasoline Inventories
US gasoline inventories rose by 0.5 MMbbls (million barrels) or 0.3% to 228.3 MMbbls from December 15 to 22, 2017, per the EIA.
Will South Korea’s Attitude toward Cryptocurrencies Spread?
Bitcoin has steadily fallen in price since the holidays began, but it looks stationary from yesterday. Bitcoin prices have been almost flat over the past 24 hours.
US Crude Oil and Oil ETFs: Which One Is Rising More?
From December 15–22, 2017, the United States Oil ETF (USO) rose 1.7%. USO holds US crude oil near-month futures contracts.
The Revival of Miners and Technical Indicators on December 20
Alamos Gold, Sibanye Gold, Agnico Eagle Mines, and Pan American Silver have call-implied volatilities of 43.2%, 50.5%, 22.1%, and 27.5%, respectively.
Natural Gas Returns and Natural Gas ETFs
From December 15–22, 2017, the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) rose 0.6%.
Could US Tax Reform Pose a Threat to Oil Prices?
US tax reform could pose a problem for oil bulls, as lower taxes on the energy sector could bring down breakeven costs for US oil producers.
How Bitcoin Has Performed versus SPY
Bitcoin was trading at $17,000 on Wednesday, December 20, while the SPY Index was at $268.
Crude Oil Prices: Which Factor Could Change the Trend?
The EIA estimated that US crude oil production rose by 9,000 bpd (barrels per day) to 9,789,000 bpd on December 8–15, 2017.
Natural Gas: Have Oversupply Concerns Eased?
On December 19, natural gas (UNG)(BOIL)(FCG) January 2018 futures closed $0.31 below its January 2019 futures.
Libya’s Crude Oil Production Is near a 4-Year High
The EIA estimates that Libya’s crude oil production rose by 20,000 bpd (barrels per day) or 2.1% to 980,000 bpd in November 2017.
Commodities Are Strong in the Early Hours on December 20
Gold and silver are strong early on December 20. The lower global risk appetite and weak US dollar are supporting gold prices in the early hours.
What Oil Bulls Could Expect for Oil Inventories
Oil stockpiles In the week ended December 8, 2017, US crude oil inventories fell by 5.1 MMbbls (million barrels) to 443 MMbbls. However, motor gasoline inventories rose 5.7 MMbbls. The data was released by the EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) on December 13. That day, US crude oil prices fell 0.9%. Inventory spread The gap between US oil inventories […]
A Brief Look at December 2017’s Precious Metal Spread Measures
In this article, we’ll discuss the gold-silver, gold-platinum, and gold-palladium spreads. These three spreads stand at 77.9, 1.38, and 1.23, respectively.
Reading Miner Volatility in December 2017
In this article, we’ll take a look at the call-implied volatilities and RSI scores of Barrick Gold, Kinross Gold, Eldorado Gold, and IAMGOLD.
Why Platinum Led the Precious Metals Pack on December 18
All four precious metals except palladium witnessed an up day on December 18, 2017. Platinum touched the day’s high of $915.3 and ended up at $913.2 per ounce.
Are Crude Oil Prices Losing Bullish Momentum?
Record US crude oil production is limiting the upside for crude oil prices. US oil prices fell ~3% from the high in November 2017.
Will US Crude Oil Inventories Push Crude Oil Prices Higher?
US crude oil inventories fell 17.3% from their peak. So far, they have fallen 8.3% in 2017. Similarly, oil (DWT) (UCO) prices have risen ~9% in 2017.
This Oil-Tracking ETF Fell the Most Last Week
Between December 8 and December 15, the United States Oil Fund (USO)—which invests in crude US oil near-month futures contracts—fell 0.3%.
Are Natural Gas ETFs Outperforming the Natural Gas Fall?
Between December 8 and December 15, the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG)—which invests in natural gas near-month futures contracts—fell 5.6%.
Can US Crude Oil Break Below $57 Next Week?
On December 14, 2017, the implied volatility of US crude oil futures was 18.1%. It was 14.8% below its 15-day average.
Utilities Tend to Have Inverse Relationship with Interest Rates
On December 13, 2017, ten-year Treasury yields fell to 2.4%. The ten-year Treasury yields (TLT) reported a yearly high of 2.6% prior to the first rate hike in March 2017.
US Crude Oil Inventories Have Fallen 8.3% in 2017
US crude oil inventories fell by 5.1 MMbbls (million barrels) to 442.9 MMbbls on December 1–8, 2017, according to the EIA.
How Eager Are Precious Metals to Hear the Fed’s Decision?
Gold, silver, and platinum all had a down day on Tuesday, December 13, mainly due to speculations over the Federal Reserve’s pending interest rate decision.
The Correlation Trends of Miners in 2017
If we look at the YTD correlations of the select mining shares to gold, there has been a reasonable fall. On a YTD basis, Sibanye Gold has the least correlation to gold.
How Is Gold, Commercial and Non-Commercial, Moving?
Speculative positions fell sharply last week. It was the most significant one-week fall since May 2016.
Oil ETFs That Outperformed US Crude Oil Last Week
On December 1–8, 2017, the United States Oil Fund (USO), which holds crude US oil futures contracts, fell 1.5%. US crude oil January 2018 futures fell 1.7%.
Will the EIA Upgrade US Crude Oil Production Estimates?
Weekly US crude oil production hit 9,707,000 bpd for the week ending December 1, 2017—the highest level ever.
Natural Gas: Fall Impacts Natural Gas ETFs
On December 1–8, 2017, the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG), which holds near-month natural gas futures contracts, fell 9.3%.
US Crude Oil Prices Could Remain below $58 Next Week
On December 7, 2017, US crude oil’s implied volatility was 20% or ~1.1% less than its 15-day average. On December 1, the implied volatility fell to 19.8%.
Are Natural Gas Supply Fears Rising?
On December 6, natural gas (UNG)(BOIL) January 2018 futures traded at a discount of ~$0.24 to January 2019 futures. This price difference between January 2018 futures and January 2019 futures is called the “futures spread.”
Analyzing Crude Oil Inventories and Oil Prices
In the week ending November 24, 2017, US crude oil inventories fell by 3.4 MMbbls (million barrels) to 453.7 MMbbls.
Analyzing US Gasoline Inventories and Demand
The API reported that US gasoline and distillate inventories rose by 9,200,000 barrels and 4,300,000 barrels on November 24–December 1, 2017.
Rate Hike Could Move Precious Metals and Miners
Investors have their eyes set on the interest rates. A rise in the interest rates causes the demand for precious metals to fall.
Where Are Precious Metal Spreads Moving?
In this part of the series, we’ll look at the gold-silver spread, the gold-platinum spread, and the gold-palladium spread.
The Outlook on Phosphate Fertilizer Remains Dull
Similar to what we saw for potash and nitrogen fertilizers, the prices for phosphate fertilizers such as DAP (diammonium phosphate) have suffered as a result of excess capacity.
What Are Miners’ Correlation Trends?
Gold is the most dominant among the four precious metals. It’s important that investors analyze how miners are moving compared to precious metals.
How OPEC and Russia Are Helping US Crude Oil Producers
January West Texas Intermediate (or WTI) crude oil (USO) (SCO) futures contracts fell 0.65% and were trading at $57.98 per barrel at 1:10 AM EST on December 4, 2017.
Rise in Natural Gas Impacts Natural Gas ETFs
On November 24–December 1, 2017, the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG), that follows near-month natural gas futures contracts, rose 4.5%.
US Gasoline Inventories Weighed on Crude Oil Futures
US gasoline inventories rose by 3,627,000 barrels to 214 MMbbls (million barrels) on November 17–24, 2017, according to the EIA.