Gold Slides as European Central Bank Snubs Bullion Purchases

Gold futures dropped after the European Central Bank said it wouldn™t consider adding to bullion purchases.

The ECB discussed buying all assets except the metal as it plans to reassess stimulus next quarter, President Mario Draghi said today. The comments come after Executive Board member Yves Mersch said last month that the bank could œtheoretically buy bullion.

Gold has rebounded 6.8 percent since touching a four-year low on Nov. 7 amid speculation that lower prices would start to attract increased physical purchases, including from central banks. Investor demand for precious metals has waned amid a rally for equities and the dollar and as inflation remained low.

Gold futures for February delivery slipped 0.1 percent to settle at $1,207.70 an ounce at 1:43 p.m. on the Comex in New York, dropping for the second time in three days.

Source : Bloomberg

Gold Retreat as Dollar Holds Advance Before ECB Policy Meeting

Gold retreated as the dollar traded near a five-year high before a European Central Bank meeting today that may give indications on further stimulus.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed before data due tomorrow that™s forecast to show U.S. jobs growth and amid speculation ECB policy makers will signal more stimulus. President Mario Draghi said last month they are open to buying a wide variety of assets.

The greenback has strengthened as the Federal Reserve considers raising borrowing costs while other central banks take steps to spur growth. A stronger dollar and higher U.S. interest rates reduce gold™s allure because the metal generally offers investors returns only through price gains.

Gold for February delivery fell 0.5 percent to $1,202.20 an ounce by 7:18 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Bullion for immediate delivery declined 0.6 percent to $1,202.25 in London, according to Bloomberg generic pricing.

Source : Bloomberg

Dollar Probes 120 Yen on U.S. Growth as Euro Traders Await ECB

The dollar strengthened to within 0.1 percent of 120 yen, reaching the highest level since July 2007, as analysts forecast that U.S. job growth will accelerate, boosting the economy while Japan™s remains mired in recession.

While the U.S. currency is being buoyed by signs of strength in the American economy, the yen and the euro are weakening as their central banks expand stimulus measures to boost growth. Europe™s shared currency touched a two-year low today as traders awaited a monetary-policy decision from the European Central Bank. Australia™s dollar slid for a sixth day after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. forecast it would decline to 79 U.S. cents.

The dollar rose 0.1 percent to 119.93 yen at 12:10 p.m. London time, after rising to 119.98, the strongest level since July 2007. The U.S. currency was little changed at $1.2313 per euro after appreciating to $1.2296, the strongest since August 2012. The yen traded at 147.66 per euro.

About $3 billion in options contracts with strikes at 120 yen per dollar expire today, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, potentially limiting the decline of the Japanese currency. The greenback appreciated 14 percent against the yen this year as the Fed moved closer to raising interest rates while the Bank of Japan increased the scale of its bond purchases as recently as October.

Source : Bloomberg

Gold Retreats From Five-Week High on Outlook for Stronger Dollar

Gold retreated after the biggest one-day rally in more than a year as investors weighed the outlook for a stronger dollar against a rebound in oil prices. Silver, platinum and palladium dropped.

Bullion for immediate delivery declined as much as 0.7 percent to $1,203.45 an ounce, and traded at $1,205.47 at 8:55 a.m. in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal rallied yesterday to $1,221.43, the highest level since Oct. 30, after climbing from a three-week low of $1,142.88 as some investors ended bets on lower prices.

Gold advanced 3.8 percent yesterday, the most since Sept. 2013, as crude recovered from a five-year low and the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell from the highest since 2009. The gauge of the U.S. currency remains 8.3 percent higher this year amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will start to raise interest rates next year, hurting gold™s allure. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the largest exchange-traded product backed by the metal, shrank 10 percent in 2014 to a six-year low.

Gold dropped for a third month in November as the Fed assessed the timing of rate rises, while other central banks added to stimulus, strengthening the dollar. Policy makers at the European Central Bank and Bank of England meet Dec. 4.

Source: Bloomberg

Dollar Falls From 5-Year High on Speculation It Gained Too Fast

The dollar declined from the highest level in more than five years amid speculation the currency may have strengthened too much, too fast.

The greenback slipped versus most of its 16 major peers after a gauge of the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index™s relative strength exceeded 70 on Nov. 28, a level some traders consider a signal an asset may reverse course. Russia™s ruble led a drop by some commodity-producing nations™ currencies as oil reached a five-year low. The yen gained after weakening to a seven-year low as Moody™s Investors Service cut Japan™s credit rating.

Bloomberg™s dollar index, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of 10 trading partners, sank 0.3 percent to 1,103.69 at 4:11 p.m. in New York. It closed on Nov. 28 at 1,106.90, the highest level since March 2009, as it gained for a sixth consecutive week.

The dollar fell 0.2 percent to 118.36 yen, after earlier touching 119.14 yen, the strongest since August 2007. The U.S. currency depreciated 0.2 percent to $1.2473 per euro. The 18-nation currency was little changed at 147.64 yen.

Source : Bloomberg

Oil Sinks Commodities as Asian Stocks Fall; Dollar Gains

Oil drove commodities lower, with West Texas Intermediate crude plunging to a five-year low as gold and silver sank with industrial metals. Asian stocks fell with U.S. index futures as a gauge of Chinese manufacturing dropped more than expected, while the dollar strengthened.
WTI lost 2.1 percent to $64.75 a barrel by 10:07 a.m. in Tokyo, headed for its lowest close since July 2009. Gold sank as much as 2.1 percent as silver retreated to a five-year low, while copper and nickel lost at least 1.2 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) fell 0.3 percent, fueled by declines among Australian and South Korean stocks as Japanese shares rose. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures dropped 0.2 percent. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index added 0.2 percent as the greenback reached a four-year high versus the Australian dollar.
Collapsing oil prices have driven the Bloomberg Commodity Index to its lowest level since 2009, damping the outlook for global price growth amid concerns over slowing economies. Swiss voters yesterday rejected a measure that would have forced their central bank hold at least 20 percent of its balance sheet in gold. China’s official factory index fell to 50.3 for November, below the 50.5 reading projected by economists with similar data for Japan, the euro region and the U.S. also due today.
“Concerns about disinflation and deflation are being fueled by what we’re seeing in energy and commodity markets at this point in time,” Richard Gibbs, global head of economics at Macquarie Group Ltd., Australia’s largest investment bank, said in a Bloomberg TV interview in Sydney. “Clearly the decision by the Saudis to not even countenance a cut in production has strong geopolitical undertones.”
Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil exporter among the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, was a driving force behind the 12-member group’s decision last week to maintain its collective production ceiling at 30 million barrels a day. The oil minister of Iran, which advocated for an output cut, said in an interview late last week that the “shock therapy” of a steep decline in prices is no solution to OPEC’s loss of market share to U.S. shale producers.

Source : Bloomberg

China Drafts Bank Deposit Insurance in Move to Free Rates

China will start an insurance system for bank deposits, a move toward scrapping remaining controls on interest rates and allowing lenders to fail in a more market-driven economy.
The government will insure deposits of as much as 500,000 yuan ($81,367) per saver at each bank covered, the People’s Bank of China said in a draft rule on its website yesterday. It didn’t give a start date or detail what premiums banks may pay, saying only that they may differ depending on lenders’ management and risk conditions. The PBOC is seeking feedback through Dec. 30.
Deposit insurance removes an implicit government guarantee behind China’s state-controlled banks and clears the way for the nation to deregulate savings rates, increasing competition for funds. That may exacerbate a liquidity shortage at smaller banks and boost their chance of failure as savings shift to the biggest lenders.
“Deposit insurance is not only standard in all developed banking markets but in addition it is one of the least contentious of banking reforms -- this looks like an ‘easy win’ for financial sector reform,” Jim Antos, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd., said before the announcement. “China needs deposit insurance now because the mainland economy is less robust and there is, implicitly, a greater risk of small banks having a liquidity crisis.”

Riskiest Part

China’s savers had piled up 112 trillion yuan of local-currency deposits as of Oct. 31., while bad loans have climbed to a six-year high, pointing to stresses within the financial system. The dominance of state-controlled lenders has left savers believing in an implicit government guarantee. China is the only major economy in Asia without a formal deposit insurance system.
Such systems can help to prevent bank runs. At the same time, by acknowledging the possibility of bank failures, the plan may encourage depositors with balances exceeding 500,000 yuan at small lenders to shift to larger ones seen as more stable.
The system can “promote the establishment of market-based risk prevention and resolution mechanisms,” the central bank said in the statement.

Coverage

The insured amount proposed will be enough to cover all the bank deposits of 99.6 percent of savers, the central bank said in a separate statement. BNP Paribas SA has estimated that a system of the type planned may cover 46 percent of deposit balances, based on past PBOC data. Authorities may adjust the 500,000 yuan ceiling, which includes both principal and interest, in line with economic and financial conditions, the statement said.
The rule would apply to all deposit-taking financial institutions and covers both local and foreign-currency deposits, according to the draft. A deposit insurance fund management agency, to be decided by the State Council, will set the premium rates. The ratios will be “much lower than” the starting level or current level in most countries with a deposit insurance system, and the financial impact on lenders is “very small,” the PBOC said in a separate statement.
Money in the plan could only be held by the central bank or invested in government bonds, PBOC notes, high-rated debentures or other channels approved by the State Council.

Slower Growth

Foreign lenders’ branches in China and Chinese banks overseas units aren’t covered, the statement said. Interbank deposits by other financial institutions and deposits by senior bank management in their own bank aren’t insured.
The central bank on Nov. 22 moved further toward freeing interest rates by raising the deposit-rate cap to 1.2 times the benchmark from 1.1 times. Revamping deposit rates is the “riskiest” part of liberalization, the PBOC said in July 2013, when it allowed banks to freely price loans.
China’s economy is poised for the weakest expansion since 1990 and Communist Party leaders have discussed reducing the 2015 growth target from this year’s 7.5 percent goal, a person familiar with the matter said in November.
Deposit insurance is “a clearly defined exit strategy for troubled banks,” Judy Zhang, a Hong Kong-based analyst at BNP Paribas, said in a Nov. 28 note. “It protects the public interest and shows the government is accelerating financial reform to gradually break its implicit guarantee of the financial system. However, it may lead to a deposit shift from small banks to large and medium-sized banks in the short term.”
Smaller banks face the risk of withdrawals by corporate depositors to counterparts with strong capital bases and extensive distribution networks, Zhang said. Besides liquidity risk, smaller lenders may have to bear higher funding costs to keep customers, putting pressure on their earnings, she said.
The deposit insurance system will “significantly” enhance smaller banks’ credibility and competitiveness and create a fair environment for them to compete, according to the PBOC statement.

Source : Bloomberg

WTI Drops a Second Day as OPEC Considers Sparing Three From Cut

West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a second day as OPEC considered sparing three nations from potential output cuts when the group meets in Vienna this week.

Futures slid as much as 0.4 percent in New York. Iraq, Iran and Libya wouldn™t have to trim supplies should the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agree to a reduction, according to two people with knowledge of the proposal. This is not the first time the market is oversupplied, Saudi Arabia™s Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said in the Austrian capital.

Oil has collapsed into a bear market as the U.S. pumps crude at the fastest rate in more than three decades amid signs of a supply glut. Some OPEC producers are resisting calls to reduce production while Venezuela and Ecuador seek action to support prices ahead of discussions on Nov. 27.

WTI for January delivery dropped as much as 31 cents to $75.47 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $75.68 at 10:06 a.m. Sydney time. The contract lost 73 cents to $75.78 yesterday. The volume of all futures traded was about 43 percent below the 100-day average. Prices have decreased 23 percent this year.

Brent for January settlement dropped 68 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $79.68 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday. The European benchmark crude ended the session at a premium of $3.90 to WTI.

Source: Bloomberg

Yen Approaches Seven-Year Low Before Kuroda Speaks Amid Stimulus

The yen approached a seven-year low versus the dollar before Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda speaks today, as policy diverges from the Federal Reserve.

The euro maintained gains from yesterday versus its major peers after European Central Bank Governing Council member Jens Weidmann said expanding bond purchases to government debt would face œlegal hurdles. New Zealand™s dollar held its first decline in three days before a quarterly Reserve Bank survey of inflation expectations. The BOJ today releases minutes of its Oct. 31 meeting, when it surprised markets by expanding stimulus two days after the Fed ended its bond-buying program.

The yen slipped 0.1 percent to 118.43 per dollar at 8:47 a.m. in Tokyo from yesterday, when it fell 0.4 percent. It reached 118.98 on Nov. 20, the weakest since August 2007. The yen was little changed at 147.26 per euro, after yesterday™s 0.8 percent slide. The euro traded at $1.2434 from $1.2442.

The BOJ last month lifted the annual target for enlarging the monetary base to 80 trillion yen ($675 billion), from 60 trillion yen to 70 trillion yen. The policy board voted to retain the plan at the end of a two-day meeting on Nov. 19. Kuroda is scheduled to speak at 10 a.m. in Nagoya today.

The Fed is moving to raise interest rates for the first time since 2006 after curtailing its quantitative-easing program. Futures traders predict there™s a 50 percent chance rates will rise in September for the first time since 2006.

The New Zealand dollar was little changed at 78.60 U.S. cents, after weakening 0.3 percent yesterday.

Source : Bloomberg

WTI Crude Gains a Second Day as Investors Weigh OPEC Output Cut

West Texas Intermediate crude rose for a second day as investors weighed the likelihood OPEC will cut production when it meets in Vienna next week.
Futures advanced as much as 1.2 percent in New York. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may reduce its output target by no more than 500,000 barrels a day, Bank of America Corp. said in a note yesterday. Iran will protect its share of global sales and can double exports in two months if sanctions are removed, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said, according to the ministry’s news website Shana.
Oil has collapsed into a bear market as the U.S. pumps at the fastest rate in more than three decades amid signs of weakening demand. Leading OPEC members are resisting calls to reduce supply while others including Venezuela seek action to support prices before a Nov. 27 meeting.
WTI for January delivery increased as much as 88 cents to $76.73 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $76.61 at 10:50 a.m. Sydney time. The December contract expired yesterday after rising $1 to $75.58. Front-month prices are up 1 percent this week, heading for the first weekly gain since September.
Brent for January settlement climbed $1.23, or 1.6 percent, to $79.33 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday. The European benchmark crude ended the session at a premium of $3.48 to WTI.

Source : Bloomberg

Natural Gas Rises to 5-Month High on Heating-Fuel Demand

Natural gas futures rose in New York to the highest price in almost five months as a blast of arctic air spurred heating-fuel demand.
Prices alternated between gains and losses before ending the session up 2.7 percent. The government’s Global Forecast System midday update showed that temperatures will be below normal in the eastern U.S. next week before moving closer to seasonal norms Nov. 30 through Dec. 4, according to Frontier Weather Inc. Gas demand this week jumped to an eight-month high as temperatures tumbled, according to LCI Energy Insight data.
“A very cold start to the winter has resurfaced repressed market memories of last winter, with fickle short-term weather forecasts supporting the ongoing tug-of-war in natural gas prices,” said Teri Viswanath, director of commodities strategy at BNP Paribas SA in New York. “While the midday model runs showed a slightly warmer version of the 11- to 15-day forecast period, there appears sufficient cold weather to entice buyers.”
Natural gas for December delivery rose 11.8 cents to settle at $4.489 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest close since June 25. Prices rose to $4.503 and dropped to $4.25 during the session. Volume for all futures traded was more than double the 100-day average at 3:48 p.m. Prices are up 22 percent from a year ago.

Price Retreat

Gas retreated during the session as futures faced resistance in the $4.50 range, said Ellen Stamm, global natural gas analyst at Schneider Electric in Louisville, Kentucky. It will take colder weather to break through that level, she said.
December $4.75 calls were the most active options in electronic trading, falling 0.6 cent to 2.3 cents on volume of 2,341 as of 3:48 p.m.
The weather model for the 11- to 15-day period “averages a couple degrees warmer than normal for just about everywhere east of the Rockies except for the Northeast, which averages nearer to normal,” said Jim Southard, meteorologist with Frontier in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The expected temperature range in St. Louis on Dec. 2 is now 43 degrees Fahrenheit (6 Celsius) to 51, up from the previously forecast range of 34 to 41, he said.
The noon model showed no significant changes in the forecast for the next week, Southard said. A surge of polar air from Canada will push from the Great Plains to Florida Nov. 25 through Nov. 29, with the Midwest seeing the strongest intensity of the cold, according to MDA Weather Services in Gaithersburg, Maryland. About 49 percent of U.S. households use gas for heating.

Inventory Report

“This is an earlier cold snap and when they have to eat into storage earlier than they expected, that can make the market a little bit nervous,” Chris Ellsworth, fuel branch chief with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s office of enforcement.
Gas stockpiles fell 17 billion cubic feet in the week ended Nov. 14 to 3.594 trillion, topping the five-year average decline of 10 billion for the period, the U.S. Energy Information Administration report showed. Analyst estimates showed an expected drop of 11 billion, as did a survey of Bloomberg users.
A deficit to weekly five-year average inventory levels widened to 6.4 percent from 6.2 percent the previous week, expanding for the first time since March.
Supplies were 5.3 percent below year-earlier inventories, compared with 5.7 percent in last week’s report.

Bigger Decline

Early data indicates that the stockpile decline in next week’s report will jump to 150 billion cubic feet, given the blast of arctic air sweeping most of the lower 48 states, according to Viswanath and Stamm. The five-year average drop for the seven days ending Nov. 21 is 6 billion.
Spectra Corp.’s Algonquin gas pipeline in the Northeast curtailed 50 percent of secondary nominations on the system at the end of last week and that rose to about 80 percent as it got colder this week, said Valeria Annibali, energy industry analyst at FERC’s enforcement office. That signals less gas was available for power generators as more pipeline capacity was used to serve firm contract holders, such as distribution companies for households, she said.
Pipeline data this week also showed a notable shift in gas flows, with the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania and West Virginia meeting a bigger share of Northeast demand while Louisiana and Gulf flows stopped in the mid-Atlantic region, she said.
Gas demand jumped to 111.3 billion cubic feet on Nov. 18, the most for any day since Feb. 11, data show from LCI Energy in El Paso, Texas. Gas deliveries for the next day jumped to a seven-month high of $10.78 per million Btu on the day-ahead market on the Intercontinental Exchange. Algonquin prices today closed at $5.87.
“You expect prices like that in the depths of winter,” Ellsworth said.

Source : Bloomberg

Minyak WTI Melemah Setelah Persediaan Minyak Mentah AS Menguat

Minyak mentah West Texas Intermediate (WTI) turun untuk hari keempat setelah persediaan minyak mentah AS naik, dan investor mengkaji kemungkinan pemangkasan produksi minyak OPEC.

Minyak berjangka melemah 0,4% di New York. Stok minyak mentah AS naik sebesar 2,6 juta barel pekan lalu menjadi 381.100.000, menurut laporan Energy Information Administration (EIA). Organisasi Negara-negara Pengekspor Minyak (OPEC) harus memangkas kelebihan pasokan dan mengurangi target produksi, Gubernur OPEC Libya Samir Kamal mengatakan kemarin.

Minyak telah merosot ke bear market setelah Amerika Serikat meningkatkan suku bunga tertinggi dalam lebih dari tiga dekade di tengah tanda-tanda melemahnya permintaan. Memimpin anggota OPEC menolak permintaan untuk mengurangi produksi karena produsen minyak yang lebih kecil seperti Venezuela mencari tindakan untuk mendukung harga sebelum pertemuan 27 November mendatang di Wina.

Minyak mentah WTI untuk pengiriman Desember, yang berakhir hari ini, kehilangan 33 sen menjadi $ 74,25 per barel di perdagangan elektronik New York Mercantile Exchange dan berada di level $ 74,28 pada pukul 10:48 pagi waktu Sydney. Kontrak bulan Januari yang lebih aktif turun 23 sen menjadi $ 74,27. Volume semua berjangka yang diperdagangkan adalah sekitar 46% di bawah rata-rata 100 hari. Harga WTI telah turun 25% dalam tahun ini.

Sementara minyak mentah Brent untuk pengiriman Januari turun 37 sen, atau 0,5%, ke $ 78,10 per barel di bursa ICE Futures Europe exchange kemarin. Minyak mentah patokan Eropa mengakhiri sesi di level $ 3,60 lebih besar dari WTI untuk bulan yang sama.

OPEC, yang memasok sekitar 40% dari minyak dunia, memompa 30.970.000 barel per hari pada bulan Oktober, melampaui target produksi kolektif dari 30 juta barel untuk bulan kelima berturut-turut, data yang dikumpulkan oleh Bloomberg menunjukkan.(frk)

Sumber : Bloomberg

Gold Open Interest Rises to 22-Month High as Short Bets Climb

Holdings in gold contracts reached the highest in almost 22 months as investors added to bets that prices will drop. Futures fell.
The aggregate number of futures contracts yet to be closed, liquidated or delivered rose to 459,657 yesterday, the highest since Jan. 22, 2013. Money managers have boosted their short wagers to the highest in four weeks, while long holdings dropped to the lowest since January, government data show.
Investor appetite for bullion has ebbed as the dollar jumped to the highest since 2009 against a 10-currency basket and the Federal Reserve moved closer to its first U.S. interest-rate increase in eight years, cutting demand for the metal as an inflation hedge. Gold futures slumped to the lowest in four years this month, heading for a second straight annual loss.
Gold futures for December delivery lost 0.3 percent to settle at $1,193.90 an ounce today on the Comex in New York. The metal fell to $1,130.40 on Nov. 7, the lowest since April 2010.
Aggregate trading was more than double the 100-day average for this time, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Bullion has declined for two straight months, the longest slump this year, as U.S. equities surged to a record and inflation failed to accelerate. Fed officials said last month that lower energy costs may hold down consumer costs in the near term.
Source: Bloomberg

Halliburton, Baker Hughes Consider Merger

Halliburton Co. (HAL) is in talks to buy Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) in a deal that would combine two of the largest and oldest names in the energy business as plunging oil prices send the industry into a downturn.
By eliminating a competitor, Halliburton, already the world’s second-biggest provider of oilfield services, would gain market clout that would help insulate it from a sustained market decline. A combination of Halliburton with No. 3 Baker Hughes would be a little more than half the size of larger rival Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB)
“The two gorillas in the room are getting together,” said Ed Hirs, who lectures on energy economics at the University of Houston. “Halliburton and Baker Hughes would have been competing more strenuously to maintain market share in the downturn, but this will make that easier.”
Baker Hughes rose 15 percent yesterday to $58.75 a share in New York, giving the company a market value of more than $25 billion. Halliburton rose 1.1 percent to $53.79, giving it a market value of about $46 billion.
The deal will probably be closely scrutinized by federal antitrust regulators, especially where the two companies’ businesses overlap most in North America.
With Baker Hughes, Halliburton fills a gap in its portfolio of oilfield services: technology to boost production in aging wells. Halliburton also gets Baker Hughes’ prized oil tools business.

Photographer: Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg

Employees work in a lab at the Halliburton Co. facility in Houston.

‘Global Footprint’

“These oilfield services companies need to have a global footprint of a complete portfolio of products and services,” Richard Spears, vice president at Tulsa, Oklahoma-based industry consultant Spears & Associates said in a phone interview. “Schlumberger has it; a Halliburton-Baker Hughes combination would mimic the Schlumberger footprint.”
In a statement yesterday, Baker Hughes said it is in “preliminary discussions” with Halliburton about a “potential business combination.” If negotiations are successful, a deal could be announced as soon as next week, said one person familiar with the matter, asking not to be identified discussing private information.
Halliburton doesn’t comment on market speculation, Emily Mir, a spokeswoman at Halliburton, said in an e-mail.
Halliburton initiated talks by contacting Baker Hughes several weeks ago, said one of the people with knowledge of the talks. Both companies are hired by oil and natural gas explorers to drill wells and provide services such as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which cracks rock to let petroleum flow more freely.

Photographer: George Frey/Bloomberg

Halliburton Co. workers support natural gas drilling operations in Rifle, Colorado.

Anti-Trust Questions

Discussions of late have focused on potential anti-trust issues and Halliburton has explored options such as setting up a unit to hold assets it’s willing to divest, this person said. If the deal is completed, Halliburton and Baker Hughes will probably announce to regulators a willingness to sell assets to overcome anti-trust concerns, the person added.
Halliburton may have to divest more than 20 percent of Baker Hughes to clear regulatory scrutiny, this person added.
Combined, the companies would dominate the $25 billion U.S. onshore fracking market with a 39 percent market share, more than double the size of its next competitor, Schlumberger, according to Spears & Associates.

Challenging Schlumberger

Schlumberger’s lead outside the U.S. and Canada would be considerably weakened by a Halliburton-Baker Hughes deal. Schlumberger’s international sales of $8.3 billion in the third quarter, more than double that of a stand-alone Halliburton, would outstrip a combined Halliburton-Baker Hughes by less than one third if a merger happened.
It’s unlikely the deal could make it through the U.S. Department of Justice without “something having to be carved off,” said Edward Muztafago, an analyst for Societe Generale in New York.
Baker Hughes would be Halliburton’s largest acquisition, topping a 1998 purchase of Dresser Industries Inc. for about $8 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Halliburton’s $14 billion in deals has lagged Schlumberger’s $27 billion in takeovers, the data show.
The takeover could be the largest of a U.S. oil services company, data compiled by Bloomberg show, and potentially the largest in the energy sector since Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) said in August it would acquire all of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP), Kinder Morgan Management LLC and El Paso Pipeline Partners LP in a series of transactions valued at about $44 billion.

Sinking Prices

Oil prices dropped to four-year lows yesterday as booming U.S. crude production combines with a shrinking forecast of demand growth. Lower prices could curtail drilling, meaning lower sales for Halliburton and its peers.
Prices should bottom out next year and begin climbing again, Dave Lesar, chief executive officer at Halliburton, said Oct. 22 in an interview from his Houston headquarters.
Both companies have century-old pedigrees in the business. Baker Hughes has its roots in billionaire Howard Hughes Jr.’s empire, started by his father in 1909. Hughes Tool Co. merged with Baker International in 1987.
Halliburton was started in 1914 when Earl P. Halliburton borrowed a team of mules along with a wagon, a pump, and a cement-mixing box to start a business cementing oil wells.
Halliburton reported third-quarter earnings that climbed 70 percent from a year earlier, and is expected to boost earnings 30 percent this quarter. The company, which has doubled its quarterly dividend over the past two years, reported cash of $2 billion at the end of the third quarter.
Baker Hughes said earnings rose 10 percent in the third quarter.
Credit Suisse Group AG is advising Halliburton on the talks while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is advising Baker Hughes, one of the people said. Representatives for both banks declined to comment.

Sumber : Bloomberg

OPEC Diplomacy Picks Up With Iraq-to-Libya Chiefs

OPEC producers are stepping up their diplomatic visits before the group’s meeting in two weeks, potentially seeking a consensus on how to react to oil prices that have plunged to a four-year low.
Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani flew to Riyadh yesterday just as Iraqi President Fouad Masoum left the kingdom after a two-day visit where he met with King Abdullah, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. Rafael Ramirez, Venezuela’s foreign minister and representative to OPEC, held talks in Algeria and Qatar. Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi toured Latin America.
“The Saudis will not walk the road alone, they want to see everyone share the burden with them,” Kuwait-based analyst Kamel al-Harami said by phone. Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, is trying to build consensus among fellow members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries before they meet Nov. 27 in Vienna, he said.
West Texas Intermediate is poised for the longest run of weekly declines in almost three decades amid speculation that OPEC will refrain from cutting output to ease concern of a supply glut. WTI added 8 cents to $74.29 a barrel and Brent gained 0.4 percent to $78.20 at 11:01 a.m. in London.

Photographer: Yasser al-Zayyat/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi, seen here, toured Latin America.

Falling oil prices are straining state budgets among OPEC members, including Iraq’s government, which is leading a costly war against Islamist militants, and Libya that is struggling to keep crude output steady amid political divisions and violence.

Iran’s Message

Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency said Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, the nation’s oil minister, delivered a message to Kuwait on behalf of President Hassan Rouhani. Zanganeh briefed Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al Sabah on developments in oil markets, the agency said. He also went to Qatar, IRNA reported.
Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro said he’d sent Ramirez to five countries, according to a televised address from Caracas.
“We are in a campaign to defend Venezuela, Venezuelan oil, international markets and the price of oil,” Maduro was cited as saying yesterday. “Oil sustains the development of our economic and social life.”
Ramirez met with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, with both nations reaffirming a joint position to defend prices, state-run news agency Algeria Press Service reported.
He also went to Qatar where he discussed crude prices and stability of oil markets with the Middle East country’s Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani and Energy Minister Mohammed Bin Saleh Al Sada yesterday in Doha, Venezuela’s foreign ministry said in a statement. He’s also is scheduled to travel to Iran and Russia, according to the ministry, while Maduro said the trip would include Mexico.

Photographer: Ashraf Shazly/AFP via Getty Images

Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani, seen here, flew to Riyadh yesterday.

All or Nothing

Saudi Arabia remains committed to seeking a stable oil prices and speculation of a battle between crude producers has no basis, Al-Naimi said Nov. 12 in Mexico after a visit to Venezuela.
OPEC members Libya, Venezuela and Ecuador have called for action to prevent crude from falling further. Libya’s OPEC governor Samir Kamal said last month that the group must cut daily output by 500,000 barrels as the market is oversupplied by about 1 million barrels a day. This reflected his personal view, he said at the time.
“They can all come to Saudi Arabia and ask the Saudis to support oil prices, but that will not change anything,” al-Harami said. “At the next meeting, Al-Naimi will look for a cut by all the members and if he doesn’t get it, nothing will change.”

Sumber : Bloomberg

Gold Heads for Weekly Loss as SPDR Assets Extend Drop, Oil Slips

Gold headed for a weekly decline as investors assessed the timing of higher U.S. borrowing costs amid slumping energy prices, with assets in the SPDR Gold Trust posting the longest period of decline since May 2013.
Bullion for immediate delivery fell as much as 0.4 percent to $1,157.94 an ounce, and traded at $1,160.41 at 8:48 a.m. in Singapore, down 1.5 percent this week, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. Holdings in the SPDR, the largest exchange-traded product backed by the metal, shrank to a six-year low of 720.62 metric tons yesterday, contracting for an eighth day.
Gold is heading for the first consecutive annual loss since 2000 as oil prices at a four-year low eroded demand for an inflation hedge, and the Federal Reserve moves closer to the first rate increase since 2006. Global demand slid 2.5 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier to the lowest level since 2009, the World Gold Council said yesterday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index traded near a five-year high before a U.S. retail sales report today forecast to show a small increase.
“Unless some material change occurs in the U.S. economy, we believe a rate hike remains on the cards, keeping gold price weak,” Zhu Runyu, an analyst at CITIC Futures Co., a unit of China’s largest listed brokerage, said in an e-mail today.
New York Fed President William C. Dudley said raising interest rates too early poses a bigger risk to the economy than acting too late. Fed policy makers ended a bond-buying program last month as the jobless rate fell to a six-year low.
Gold for December delivery lost 0.2 percent to $1,159.70 an ounce on the Comex in New York, on course for a fourth week of losses. Most-active prices are 3.7 percent lower this year after losing 28 percent in 2013.
Silver for immediate delivery slid 0.6 percent to $15.5645 an ounce, heading for a fifth weekly drop, The metal retreated 20 percent this year and dropped to $15.0681 on Nov. 7, the lowest price since February 2010.
Spot platinum traded at $1,193.63 an ounce from $1,196.50 yesterday, set for a fifth week of declines. Palladium was little changed at $766.95 an ounce, poised for a second weekly decrease.

Glencore to Shut Australian Coal Mines for Three Weeks

Glencore Plc (GLEN), the world’s biggest exporter of power-station coal, will stop production at its Australian mines for three weeks as prices languish at a five-year low.
The decision to halt operations starting in mid-December will rein in output in Australia by about 5 million metric tons, the Baar, Switzerland-based company said in a statement today. That’s equal to about 6 percent of Glencore’s Australian coal production last year.
Glencore, led by Chief Executive Officer Ivan Glasenberg, is tapping the brakes on what has been a steady period of growth in coal production. A slide in prices has forced operators to shut mines as lower-cost producers like Glencore raised output, deepening a global glut.
“There is a broad, bearish tone in the market and investors are focusing on the negative headlines,” Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., said today by phone. “So whether this actually supports the short-term price is debatable, but on a fundamental basis it will help.”

Expanding Mines

Glencore, which proposed a merger with Rio Tinto Group in July, reported earlier this month that it increased coal output by 9.2 percent in the third quarter to 40.2 million tons, driven by expansion at energy coal mines in Australia. Glencore’s Australian coal output last year was 81 million tons, according to a presentation in September.
The price of energy coal from Australia’s Newcastle port, a benchmark for Asia, is down 27 percent this year to $61.85 a ton last week, the lowest since 2009, according to McCloskey.
“We remain confident in demand growth for our products and believe that the supply and demand balance will be restored in the medium term,” the company said today.
In the iron ore industry, Glasenberg has argued that his two biggest rivals have got it wrong by feeding a global glut.

Gold Heads for Weekly Loss as SPDR Assets Extend Drop, Oil Slips

Gold headed for a weekly decline as investors assessed the timing of higher U.S. borrowing costs amid slumping energy prices, with assets in the SPDR Gold Trust posting the longest period of decline since May 2013.
Bullion for immediate delivery fell as much as 0.4 percent to $1,157.94 an ounce, and traded at $1,160.41 at 8:48 a.m. in Singapore, down 1.5 percent this week, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. Holdings in the SPDR, the largest exchange-traded product backed by the metal, shrank to a six-year low of 720.62 metric tons yesterday, contracting for an eighth day.
Gold is heading for the first consecutive annual loss since 2000 as oil prices at a four-year low eroded demand for an inflation hedge, and the Federal Reserve moves closer to the first rate increase since 2006. Global demand slid 2.5 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier to the lowest level since 2009, the World Gold Council said yesterday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index traded near a five-year high before a U.S. retail sales report today forecast to show a small increase.
“Unless some material change occurs in the U.S. economy, we believe a rate hike remains on the cards, keeping gold price weak,” Zhu Runyu, an analyst at CITIC Futures Co., a unit of China’s largest listed brokerage, said in an e-mail today.
New York Fed President William C. Dudley said raising interest rates too early poses a bigger risk to the economy than acting too late. Fed policy makers ended a bond-buying program last month as the jobless rate fell to a six-year low.
Gold for December delivery lost 0.2 percent to $1,159.70 an ounce on the Comex in New York, on course for a fourth week of losses. Most-active prices are 3.7 percent lower this year after losing 28 percent in 2013.
Silver for immediate delivery slid 0.6 percent to $15.5645 an ounce, heading for a fifth weekly drop, The metal retreated 20 percent this year and dropped to $15.0681 on Nov. 7, the lowest price since February 2010.
Spot platinum traded at $1,193.63 an ounce from $1,196.50 yesterday, set for a fifth week of declines. Palladium was little changed at $766.95 an ounce, poised for a second weekly decrease.

Sumber : Bloomberg

Glencore to Shut Australian Coal Mines for Three Weeks

Glencore Plc (GLEN), the world’s biggest exporter of power-station coal, will stop production at its Australian mines for three weeks as prices languish at a five-year low.
The decision to halt operations starting in mid-December will rein in output in Australia by about 5 million metric tons, the Baar, Switzerland-based company said in a statement today. That’s equal to about 6 percent of Glencore’s Australian coal production last year.
Glencore, led by Chief Executive Officer Ivan Glasenberg, is tapping the brakes on what has been a steady period of growth in coal production. A slide in prices has forced operators to shut mines as lower-cost producers like Glencore raised output, deepening a global glut.
“There is a broad, bearish tone in the market and investors are focusing on the negative headlines,” Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., said today by phone. “So whether this actually supports the short-term price is debatable, but on a fundamental basis it will help.”

Expanding Mines

Glencore, which proposed a merger with Rio Tinto Group in July, reported earlier this month that it increased coal output by 9.2 percent in the third quarter to 40.2 million tons, driven by expansion at energy coal mines in Australia. Glencore’s Australian coal output last year was 81 million tons, according to a presentation in September.
The price of energy coal from Australia’s Newcastle port, a benchmark for Asia, is down 27 percent this year to $61.85 a ton last week, the lowest since 2009, according to McCloskey.
“We remain confident in demand growth for our products and believe that the supply and demand balance will be restored in the medium term,” the company said today.
In the iron ore industry, Glasenberg has argued that his two biggest rivals have got it wrong by feeding a global glut.

Sumber : Bloomberg

Yen Near Seven-Year Low Amid Speculation Abe to Call Election

The yen traded 0.5 percent from a seven-year low amid speculation Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will call a general election to shore up support and postpone a planned sales-tax increase.

The yen reached 116.10 per dollar this week, the least since October 2007, after a ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker said preparations for a snap election have begun. It rebounded yesterday after Finance Minister Taro Aso downplayed the possibility of a delay in raising the levy. The euro held a loss before German data forecast to confirm consumer prices fell last month. The Aussie traded near the highest in a week before Chinese data on retail sales and industrial production.

The yen traded at 115.50 per dollar as of 9:21 a.m. in Tokyo from 115.49 yesterday, when it rose 0.3 percent. It was little changed at 143.66 per euro. The shared currency was at $1.2434, after declining 0.3 percent in New York.

Australia™s dollar traded at 87.16 U.S. cents from 87.19 yesterday, when it touched 87.45, the most since Nov. 5.

Japan™s currency has tumbled 5.5 percent against the dollar since Oct. 30, the most among its developed-market peers, after policy makers surprised investors at the end of last month with further currency-depreciating stimulus from the Bank of Japan and pension reforms that allow more money to flow abroad and into domestic stocks. Japan™s Nikkei 225 Stock Average has surged 9.2 percent, and closed above 17,000 this week for the first time in seven years.

Source : Bloomberg

Gold Investor Exit Shakes Off Boredom With Higher Volatility

The rout that sent gold prices to a four-year low is also shaking boredom out of the market, with a rebound in volatility that™s giving some investors more reason to sell.

The metal™s 30-day volatility is close to the highest since January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The measure in October touched the lowest since 2010, with investors ignoring gold in favor of equities for most of the year.

Gains for the U.S. labor market lured the bears back. The metal erased its 2014 advance just before the Federal Reserve said it would stop buying bonds. The declines accelerated as the dollar climbed to a five-year high against a basket of 10 currencies and tumbling energy costs signaled tame inflation. In the week ended Nov. 4, hedge funds cut net-bullish gold bets by the most this year, and short holdings rose for the first time in a month, the most-recent U.S. government data show.

Gold futures for delivery in December fell 0.3 percent to settle at $1,159.10 an ounce at 1:40 p.m. on the Comex in New York. Earlier, the price climbed as much as 0.6 percent. On Nov. 7, the metal touched $1,130.40, the lowest for a most-active contract since April 2010.

Source : Bloomberg

Emas Melemah Pasca Gain Terbesar Di Bulan Juni Setelah Aset SPDR Turun

Emas turun dari level tertinggi dalam seminggu terkait ekspektasi bahwa biaya pinjaman AS akan naik, dan aset dalam bursa ETP berbasis logam terbesar memperpanjang  penurunan. Perak dan platinum turun.

Emas untuk pengiriman segera turun 0,7% menjadi $ 1,170.09 per ons, dan berada di $ 1,170.91 pada pukul 8:01 pagi di Singapura, menurut Bloomberg generic pricing. Pada tanggal 7 November, emas melonjak ke level $ 1,178.82, reli dari level terendah dalam lebih dari empat tahun di level $ 1,132.16, setelah data pekerjaan AS membuntuti perkiraan, menekan dolar.

Bullion menghentikan penurunan dalam dua minggu pada pekan lalu setelah membukukan kenaikan 3,2% pada 7 November yang merupakan kenaikan satu hari terbesar sejak bulan Juni yang lalu. Harga logam kuning naik bahkan ketika kepemilikan di SPDR Gold Trust turun untuk hari keempat setidaknya sejak September 2008. Pengusaha di AS menambah 214.000 pekerja pada bulan Oktober, meleset dari gain yang diharapkan oleh para ekonom sebanyak 235.000 dan mengirimkan Indeks Bloomberg Dollar Spot turun dari tertinggi lima tahun.

Emas untuk pengiriman Desember naik 0,1% menjadi $ 1,171.40 per ons di bursa Comex New York setelah harga teraktif naik ke level $ 1179 pada 7 November, yang merupakan level tertinggi sejak 31 Oktober. Posisi net-long dan opsi di New York berjangka turun 36% setelah spekulasi terkait harga yang lebih tinggi turun 12%, terbesar sejak Desember 2012, data pemerintah AS menunjukkan.

Perak untuk pengiriman segera turun 0,4% menjadi $ 15,7254 per ons setelah naik 2,4% pada 7 November, yang terbesar dalam sebulan.(frk)

Sumber : Bloomberg

Aussie Menguat Setelah Data Ekonomi China; Dollar Memperpanjang Penurunan

Dolar Australia menguat setelah data menunjukkan ekspor China naik lebih dari yang diharapkan, mitra dagang terbesar Australia. Greenback memperpanjang penurunan setelah pertumbuhan pekerjaan bulan Oktober lebih lemah dari perkiraan.

Mata uang AS turun menuju penurunan harian kedua terhadap yen, setelah mencapai level tertinggi dalam tujuh tahun pada minggu lalu karena Gubernur Bank of Japan, Haruhiko Kuroda mengatakan tidak ada batasan untuk langkah-langkah pelonggaran bank yang dapat mengatasi deflasi. Selandia Baru, kiwi dolar juga naik akibat laporan China meningkatkan prospek untuk ekonomi terbesar di kawasan Asia-Pasifik.

Mata uang Australia naik 0,1% menjadi 86,44 sen AS pada pukul 09:03 pagi di Tokyo dari 7 November. Dolar turun 0,1% menjadi 114,47 yen, setelah naik dalam minggu ketiga ke 114,60 dan menyentuh level 115,59 pada 7 November, level tertinggi sejak November 2007.

Greenback melemah 0,1% menjadi $ 1,2464 terhadap euro. Mata uang 18-negara berada di level 142,63 yen dari 142,73 yen.

Dolar Selandia Baru naik 0,1% menjadi 77,64 sen AS.

Surplus perdagangan China diperluas menjadi $ 45.4 miliar pada bulan Oktober, melampaui estimasi rata-rata untuk surplus sebesar $ 42 miliar antara ekonom yang disurvei oleh Bloomberg News.

Harga konsumen China diprediksi naik 1,6% pada bulan Oktober dari tahun sebelumnya, laju yang sama dengan bulan sebelumnya, menurut survei ekonom terpisah sebelum biro statistik merilis data hari ini.(frk)

Sumber : Bloomberg

China Factory Gauge Rises as Global Recovery Buoys Manufacturing

A gauge of China’s manufacturing rose last month as a global recovery helps the nation’s factories, underpinning an economy weighed by a property slump.

The Purchasing Managers’ Index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics for October was at 50.4, unchanged from the preliminary figure and up from September’s final reading of 50.2. Numbers above 50 indicate expansion.

Demand from the U.S. is supporting manufacturing in China. Even still, the world’s second-largest economy is headed for the slowest full-year expansion since 1990, based on the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Average input costs and prices charged both declined at the fastest rates since March, the report showed, suggesting factory-gate deflation is deepening. Higher new-export business was attributed to stronger demand from customers across a number of key export markets, it said.

Source: Bloomberg

European Stocks Rebound From Two-Day Slide as M&S, Natixis Rally

European stocks rose for the first time in three days as companies from Marks & Spencer Group Plc to Natixis SA posted better-than-estimated earnings.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 1.7 percent to 336.36 at the close of trading as all the industry groups on the gauge climbed. The measure had lost 1.8 percent in the past two days as some earnings missed projections and the European Commission cut growth forecasts for the region.

Profit for Stoxx 600 companies may increase 7.2 percent this year, analysts predict. That™s down from 8.3 percent growth forecast just a month ago. The gauge trades at 15.2 times its members™ projected earnings, 21 percent above its five-year average valuation, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

A private report based on October payrolls showed American companies hired the highest number of workers since June. The ADP Research Institute™s data precedes the Labor Department™s employment report on Nov. 7.

Source : Bloomberg

Yen Melemah Terkait Stimulus Moneter BOJ

Yen merosot ke level terendah dalam hampir tujuh tahun terhadap dolar setelah Bank of Japan secara tak terduga meningkat stimulus moneter yang cenderung mendevaluasi mata uang.

Mata uang Jepang tersebut turun sebanyak 3%, terbesar sejak bank sentral pertama kali memperluas stimulus pada bulan April 2013. Di akhir minggu di mana Federal Reserve mengambil jalur yang berlawanan dan menyimpulkan pembelian aset, indeks dolar terhadap sebagian besar rekan-rekan naik ke tertinggi empat tahun. Euro turun ke level terendah dua tahun. Kenaikan suku bunga di Rusia tidak bisa menghentikan penurunan lain oleh rubel. Penurunan yang nyata.

Yen turun 2,9% menjadi 112,32 per dolar pada pukul 17:00 sore waktu New York setelah terdepresiasi ke level 112,48, level terlemah sejak Desember 2007. Mata uang Jepang tergelincir 2,1% menjadi 140,68 per euro setelah turun 2,2%, terbesar sejak 16 April 2013. Mata uang bersama turun 0,7% menjadi $ 1,2525 dan menyentuh $ 1,2486, terendah sejak Agustus 2012.

Indeks Bloomberg Dollar Spot, yang melacak mata uang terhadap 10 mata uang utama, naik 1% menjadi 1,080.84 setelah naik ke 1,082.92, tertinggi dalam penutupan sejak Juni 2010. Indeks tersebut naik 0,9% pada bulan Oktober, kenaikan bulanan keempat beruntun, yang stretch terpanjang sejak periode sampai 29 Maret 2013.(frk)

Sumber : Bloomberg

Emas & Perak Turun ke Level Terendah Sejak 2010 Terkait Penguatan Dolar

Emas dan perak merosot ke level terendah sejak 2010 karena dolar menguat setelah Bank of Japan secara tak terduga meningkatkan stimulus dan Federal Reserve mengakhiri pembelian aset minggu ini.

The Fed menimbang waktu kenaikan suku bunga akibat bank sentral lainnya menambah stimulus untuk meningkatkan perekonomian mereka. Bank of Japan hari ini menaikkan target tahunan untuk memperbesar basis moneter sampai 80 triliun yen ($ 723 miliar), naik 60-70 triliun, mengirimkan yen ke posisi terendah enam tahun terhadap dolar. Emas kemarin menghapus kenaikan tahunan setelah produk domestik bruto (PDB) Amerika Serikat mengalahkan perkiraan.

Emas berjangka untuk pengiriman Desember turun 2,3% menjadi $ 1,1171.60 per ons pada pukul 1:50 siang di bursa Comex New York, setelah menyentuh level $ 1,160.50, level terendah untuk kontrak teraktif sejak Juli 2010. Perak berjangka untuk pengiriman di bulan yang sama turun sebanyak 4,8% menjadi $ 15,635, terendah sejak Februari 2010.

Emas turun 4,9% dalam minggu ini, penurunan terbesar sejak September 2013. Logam kuning juga turun 3,3 persen pada bulan Oktober untuk mencatatkan kerugian bulanan beruntun untuk pertama kalinya dalam tahun ini. Harga emas telah kehilangan 2,6% pada tahun 2014 ini.(frk)

Sumber : Bloomberg

Emas Bersiap Menuju Penurunan Dalam 2-Bulan Terakhir

Emas bersiap menuju penurunan bulanan untuk pertama kalinya secara berturut-turut pada tahun 2014 pasca menghapus gain untuk tahun ini terkait Federal Reserve mengakhiri program pembelian obligasi di tengah tanda-tanda pemuluhan perekonomian AS, memangkas permintaan emas.

Bullion untuk pengiriman segera diperdagangkan di level $ 1,200.67 per ounce pada pukul 8:46 pagi di Singapura dari level $ 1,198.85 kemarin, menurut harga Bloomberg. Logam kemarin turun ke level $ 1,196.07, merupakan level terendah sejak 6 Oktober lalu, sementara produk domestik bruto AS mengalahkan perkiraan pada kuartal ketiga dan China menyelidiki kenaikan ekspor logam mulia. Sementara obligasi dalam produk yang diperdagangkan di bursa terbesar turun ke level terendah dalam enam tahun terakhir.

Emas di perdagangkan sebesar 0,6 persen lebih rendah pada bulan Oktober ini pasca turun sebesar 6,2 persen bulan lalu, dan logam kemarin menghapus kenaikan tahun ini terkait Indeks Bloomberg Dollar Spot naik ke level tertinggi dalam tiga pekan terakhir. Pejabat The Fed pekan ini akan mengatakan pasar kerja telah membaik sehingga memutuskan untuk mengakhiri pembelian obligasi, dengan tetap mempertahankan komitmen untuk mempertahankan suku bunga rendah untuk waktu yang cukup. Sementara Bank sentral telah mempertahankan suku bunga utamanya pada nol hingga 0,25 persen sejak tahun 2008 silam. (vck)

Sumber: Bloomberg

Laporan Dana Pensiun Jepang Tekan Yen Mendekati Level 6 Tahun Terendah

Yen ditransaksikan mendekati level terendahnya dalam enam tahun terakhir terhadap dolar pasca sebuah laporan dari dana pensiun terbesar di dunia akan meningkatkan kepemilikan surat berharga di luar Jepang.

Dana Investasi Pensiun Jepang (GPIF) akan meningkatkan kepemilikan saham asing sampai 40 persen dari 23 persen dengan total investasi mencapai $1.2 triliun, kata koran Nikkei. Itu lebih tinggi dari perkiraan sebesar 29 persen dalam survei Bloomberg terhadap analis. Dolar menyentuh level tertingginya dalam tiga pekan terakhir terhadap mata uang utama kemarin karena ekonomi AS berkembang lebih dari perkiraan pada kuartal ketiga.

Yen stagnan pada level 109,18 per dolar AS pukul 8:57 pagi di Tokyo dari kemarin, turun ke 109,47 yen di New York, 0,6 persen dari terendah dalam enam tahun terakhir dari level 110,09 yang dicapai pada 1 Oktober lalu. Yen ditransaksikan pada level 137,71 per euro.

Dollar berada di level $1,2609 per euro pasca menguat menguat ke level $1,2548 di New York, level terkuat sejak 6 Oktober lalu. Indeks Spot Dolar Bloomberg, yang melacak dolar terhadap 10 mata uang utama, mendatar pada level 1,070.52. Dolar naik meningkat tajam sampai ke level 1,073.85 kemarin, tertinggi sejak 6 Oktober lalu. (izr)

Sumber: Bloomberg

Emas Mendekati Level 3 Pekan Terendah Pasca The Fed Optimis Terhadap Ekonomi AS

Emas tertahan di dekat level tiga pekan terendahnya pada hari Kamis pagi pasca Federal Reserve AS mengakhiri program stimulus pembelian obligasi dan mengungkapkan keyakinannya dalam pemulihan ekonomi, meredupkan daya tarik emas sebagai safe haven.

Spot emas stagnan pada level $1,212.60 per ons pukul 07:31 di Singapura. Di sesi sebelumnya, emas jatuh ke level $1,208.26 - terendah sejak 8 Oktober lalu, sebelum ditutup turun sebesar 1,3 persen.

Emas berjangka AS anjlok sekitar sebesar 1 persen ke level $1,212.80 pada hari Kamis, mengikuti penurunan di spot emas.

The Fed pada Rabu mengakhiri program pembelian obligasi bulanannya dan menjatuhkan karakterisasi pelemahan pasar tenaga kerja AS seiring secara "signifikan" menunjukkan peningkatan kepercayaan prospek perekonomian.

Dalam sebuah pernyataan pasca pertemuan dua hari, sebagian besar bank sentral menolak volatilitas pasar keuangan baru-baru ini, peredupan pertumbuhan ekonomi di Eropa dan prospek inflasi yang lemah seiring tidak mungkin untuk melemahkan kemajuan menuju tujuan pengangguran dan inflasi.

Emas, sering dianggap sebagai alternatif investasi saat ketidakpastian ekonomi dan keuangan, jatuh di tengah kekhawatiran bahwa mosi percaya dalam pemulihan bisa mendorong The Fed untuk menaikkan suku bunga segera. Bullion, sebagai aset non-berbunga, bisa menerima pukulan ketika suku bunga naik di AS.  (izr)

Sumber: Reuters

Persediaan Minyak AS Meningkat Akibatkan WTI Turun Dari Level Tertinggi

West Texas Intermediate turun dari level tertinggi lebih dari sepekan terakhir pasca sebuah laporan pemerintah menunjukkan persediaan minyak mentah meningkat di AS, sebagai konsumen minyak terbesar di dunia.

Kontrak berjangka turun sebesar 0,3 persen di New York pasca kemarin naik ke level tertinggi sejak 21 Oktober lalu. Stok minyak mentah naik 2,06 juta per barel pekan lalu, merupakan kenaikan yang paling tinggi dalam hampir empat bulan terakhir, Administrasi Informasi Energi mengatakan kemarin. Sementara pasokan minyak dan permintaan akan kembali stabil dan anggota Organisasi Negara Pengekspor Minyak (OPEC) tidak melancarkan perang harga, menurut kelompok sekretaris jenderal Abdalla El-Badri, mengatakan pada konferensi Minyak & Uang di London kemarin.

WTI untuk pengiriman Desember turun sebesar 31 sen ke level $ 81,89 per barel pada perdagangan elektronik di New York Mercantile Exchange, dan berada di level $ 81,90 pukul 9:02 pagi di Seoul. Kontrak tersebut naik 78 sen ke level $ 82,20 kemarin. Volume semua berjangka yang diperdagangkan sekitar 55 persen di bawah RSI 100-hari. Sementara harga turun 17 persen tahun ini.

Brent untuk pengiriman Desember turun 24 sen, atau 0,3 persen, ke level $ 86,88 per barel di ICE Futures Europe exchange yang berbasis di London. Kontrak tersebut naik 1,3 persen kemarin. Sementara minyak mentah acuan Eropa diperdagangkan lebih tinggi sebesar $ 4,99 di bandingkan WTI. (vck)

Sumber: Bloomberg

Dolar Gelar Penurunan untuk Hari Ketiga Jelang Keputusan Suku Bunga The Fed

Dolar gelar penurunan selama tiga hari terakhir seiring ketidak meratanya pemulihan perekonomian AS karena pelaku pasar  menyesuaikan proyeksi mereka mengenai suku bunga acuan tahun depan sebelum The Fed menetapkan kebijakannya hari ini.

Mata uang AS mendekati level satu pekan terendahnya terhadap sekeranjang mata uang utama pasca rilis data kemarin menunjukkan pesanan barang tahan lama tiba-tiba menurun. The Fed mengatakan pada September lalu bahwa mereka akan menyimpulkan mengenai kebijakan pelonggaran kuantitatif (QE) bulan ini jika ekonomi terus membaik. Pedagang telah mendorong kembali spekulasi terkait kapan Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) akan menaikkan suku bunga acuannya.

Dolar turun ke level $1,2738 per euro pada pukul 9:05 pagi waktu Tokyo dari level $1,2734 di New York, pasca melemah sebesar 0,7 persen dalam tiga hari sebelumnya. Dolar mendatar pada level 108,15 yen. Mata uang Jepang ditransaksikan pada level 137,75 per euro dari 137,73 per euro.

IndeksSpot Dolar Bloomberg, yang melacak mata uang terhadap 10 mata uang utama, stagnan pada level 1,063.17 pasca menyentuh level 1,062.65 kemarin, terendah sejak 21 Oktober lalu.

Pemesanan barang yang dimaksudkan untuk terakhir setidaknya dalam tiga tahun terakhir turun sebesar 1,3 persen setelah jatuh sebesar 18,3 persen pada Agustus lalu, sebuah laporan Departemen Perdagangan menunjukkan kemarin di Washington.

Indeks dolar Bloomberg menuju penurunan sebesar 0,7 persen pada Oktober, penurunan bulan pertama sejak Juni lalu, karena para pedagang memangkas spekulasi sebelumnya mengenai suku bunga The Fed. Kemungkinan suku bunga akan naik pada bulan Oktober 2015 mendatang sebesar 50 persen, dari 85 persen pada 30September lalu. Para pembuat kebijakan telah mempertahankan suku bunga utama mereka pada nol hingga 0,25 persen sejak Desember 2008 lalu. (izr)

Sumber: Bloomberg

Pasokan Bahan Bakar AS Menyusut Akibatkan WTI Dekati Level 1-Pekan Tertinggi

West Texas Intermediate diperdagangkan mendekati harga tertinggi hampir satu pekan terakahir jelang laporan yang mungkin menunjukkan persediaan bahan bakar kendaraan bermotor menyusut ke level terendah dalam dua tahun terakhir di AS, sebagai konsumen minyak terbesar di dunia.

Kontrak berjangka stagnan di New York, pasca menguat untuk pertama kalinya dalam tiga hari terakhir kemarin. Stok bensin AS kemungkinan turun 900.000 barel ke level 203.500.000 pekan lalu, menurut survei Bloomberg News jelang data dari Administrasi Informasi Energi hari ini. Sementara persediaan turun sebesar 3,7 juta barel, American Petroleum Institute melaporkan kemarin, menurut pernyataan Live Squawk di Twitter.

WTI untuk pengiriman Desember berada di level $ 81,55 per barel pada perdagangan elektronik di New York Mercantile Exchange, sehingga naik 13 sen, pukul 9:08 pagi di Seoul. Kontrak naik 42 sen ke level $ 81,42 kemarin. Volume semua berjangka yang diperdagangkan sekitar 68 persen di bawah RSI 100-hari. Sementara harga WTI turun 17 persen di tahun ini.

Brent untuk pengiriman Desember naik 6 sen ke level $ 86,09 per barel di ICE Futures Europe exchange yang berbasis di London. Sementara minyak mentah acuan Eropa lebih tinggi sebesar $ 4,56 dibandingkan WTI. (vck)

Sumber: Bloomberg

Spekulasi Suku Bunga The Fed Tekan Dolar Untuk Hari Kedua

Dolar jatuh untuk hari kedua terhadap mata uang utama Terkait spekulasi Federal Reserve yang akan mempertahankan suku bunga pada rekor terendah untuk jangka waktu yang panjang pasca memangkas program pembelian obligasi nya.

Mata uang AS memperpanjang penurunan karena data menunjukkan kontrak untuk membeli rumah naik kurang dari perkiraan, sehari sebelum bank sentral memulai rapat kebijakan selama dua hari. Euro naik terhadap mata uang AS karena meredanya hasil stress test European Central Bank  (ECB) pada kekhawatiran bahwa neraca di beberapa perusahaan pemberi pinjaman yang terlalu lemah. Mata uang real Brasil jatuh ke level terendah dalam hampir enam tahun terakhir setelah Presiden Dilma Rousseff menang tipis untuk masa jabatan keduanya. Rubel tergelincir.

Indeks Spot Dollar Bloomberg yang menelusuri greenback terhadap 10 mata uang utama, turun 0,2% menjadi 1,066.03 pada 14:31 siang waktu New York. Mencatat penurunan sebesar 0,5% di bulan ini setelah menyentuh level 1,080.05 pada tanggal 3 Oktober, merupakan yang tertinggi pada penutupan sejak Juni 2010.

Mata uang AS melemah 0,5% menjadi 107,67 ¥, dan turun 0,3% menjadi $ 1,2709 per euro. Yen menguat 0,2% menjadi 136,84 terhadap euro, setelah menyentuh level 137,47 sebelumnya, yang terlemah sejak 9 Oktober.

"Euro-dolar memiliki kapasitas untuk mengakhiri tahun ini di level $ 1,30," Ungkap Borthwick.(yds)

Suber: Bloomberg

Emas Turun; Kepemilikan dalam ETP Perpanjang Penurunan ke Level Terendah 5 Thn

Emas berjangka turun untuk ketiga kalinya dalam empat sesi akibat kepemilikan dalam ETP yang berbasis logam turun ke level terendah dalam lebih dari lima tahun.

Pekan lalu, aset di ETPS global turun 0,8% menjadi 1,654.2 metrik ton, terendah sejak September 2009. 30-hari volatilitas historis logam telah naik dalam satu bulan terakhir karena investor mengikuti data ekonomi untuk memprediksi seberapa cepat Federal Reserve akan mulai menaikkan biaya pinjaman. Para pembuat kebijakan akan memulai pertemuan dua hari besok.

Emas berjangka merosot 8,4% pada kuartal ketiga, menyentuh level termurah dalam tahun ini pada 6 Oktober lalu, akibat ekuitas AS melonjak ke rekor di tengah tanda-tanda pemulihan mulai menguat. Harga mengalami rebound sebanyak 6,1 dari level terendah setelah The Fed mengutip perlambatan ekonomi asing sebagai risiko bagi AS. Hal tersebut membuat beberapa investor untuk mendorong kembali perkiraan untuk kenaikan suku bunga.

Di bursa Comex, emas berjangka untuk pengiriman Desember turun 0,2% untuk menetap di $ 1,229.30 per ons pada pukul 1:36 siang di New York. Perdagangan adalah 37% di bawah rata-rata 100-hari, data yang dikumpulkan oleh Bloomberg menunjukkan.(frk)

Sumber : Bloomberg