Commodities News

The United States Department of Agriculture reported the crop conditions for the last week. Corn was rated 58% good or excellent as of last Sunday. Up from 57% the previous week, but well behind the 72% rating this time last year.

Metal traders are expecting a 25 bp cut by the FOMC, but what is now more interesting is any hint the Fed would be willing to give signaling more cuts in the second half of 2019.

Soybean is trading 0.65% positive on Monday as the grain is moving at 8.850. However, technical conditions suggest that the upside will be short-lived and the 8.900 will be strong resistance.

Technical conditions for gold are weak. Only the Fed would give life to the metal and give it enough power to break above the 1,430. Think that the 25 basis point is already priced in.

“There has been a sea change in central banks’ attitudes toward gold since the financial crisis,” said Natalie Dempster, a managing director at the World Gold Council. “Europe is itself now a net buyer of gold – no one needs a sales agreement anymore.”

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures displayed their tightest trading range since the week-ending April 19 as traders battled over both potentially bullish and bearish news. Gold futures also posted a tight range last week that fell inside the previous week’s range. Speculative natural gas longs are likely on

The United States Department of Agriculture reported plunging week-to-week inspections. U.S. spring wheat crop was rated 76% good or excellent, unchanged from the previous week.

XAU/USD is now testing the 1,425 area, where a confluence of 200 and 50 days moving averages are. Now, profit-taking is expected due to normal Friday conditions.

The International Grains Council is now expecting a weaker production of grains in the 2019-2020 seasons following hard planting conditions and weather around the world.

Gold always likes when central banks consider more stimulus, but this time, ECB and Mario Draghi seems to be diminishing returns to certain policies in the near future.

The concerns are pushing prices up, while the forecast for better weather conditions contains the upside. Investors are now waiting for the new acreage count and grains report that the USDA will publish the first week of August.

Gold is finally trading positive after three negative days, while silver and platinum have jumped to fresh highs. The Gold/silver ratio is felling for the eighth straight day

The United States Department of Agriculture reported weak progress in the crop report last week. However, improved weather is pondering the news.

Early in the day, gold found support at 1,414 and recovered ground to trade around 1,425, but it is still negative.

Hot weather and drought conditions have hurt farms in France, and the expectations are for prolonged hard conditions for crops in the European Union largest producer.

Gold is trading around the 1,425 area. Technical studies suggest that the bearish pressure is considerable with the 1,400 area as the first support. Below there, 1,380 is the level to watch.

Gold remained underpinned by expectations of a 25-basis point rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve, and capped by low expectations of a 50-basis point rate cut by central bank policymakers. The speculative buying in crude oil came to a screeching halt last week when the U.S. announced that Iran

On Friday, soybean is extending its rebound from Thursday’s lows at 8.710 to trade as high as 8.920, its intra-day high in the last day of the week. Soybeans are currently moving at 8.885, 1.25% positive on the day.

Factors that are contributing to gold and silver upside are geopolitical tensions in the middle east with Iran and the United States crossing declarations, and the US capturing of the Iranian Grace 1 oil tanker in Gibraltar, Mediterranean sea, by the US and UK.

Traders are now focused on the second survey of planted acres that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will release on August 12. They are expecting significant advances.