NGAS Down 10% On Tuesday, Gold Increased Ahead Of Wednesday's Fed Announcement, Cotton Futures Touching 22-month Lows
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Summary:
- US natural gas futures fell over 10%.
- Gold rose ahead of the Fed monetary policy announcement tomorrow.
- The price of cotton futures fell to a 22-month low.
NGAS close at their lowest since May
US natural gas futures fell over 10%, closing in on their lowest level since May at $5.6/MMBtu, as utilities continued to inject gas into storage for the winter despite expectations for milder weather over the next two weeks that should reduce demand for cooling. As record production levels and weaker export demand, notably from Europe, alarmed investors, natural gas prices in the US have now fallen more than 40% from their peak in August. The Cove Point LNG plant in Maryland owned by Berkshire Hathaway Energy, meanwhile, resumed operations on October 28 following a month of maintenance. In early to mid-November, the Freeport plant in Texas is also expected to partially begin operations.
NGAS Dec ‘22 Futures Price Chart
Gold increased on Wednesday
Ahead of the highly anticipated Fed monetary policy announcement due tomorrow, gold prices increased by about 1% to trade above $1,650 an ounce on Tuesday as the dollar surge came to an end and bond rates dropped. The central bank is expected to deliver another rate increase of gigantic proportions (75 bps), but the likelihood that it will limit the tempo of hikes in December is growing. In other countries, the Reserve Bank of Australia increased interest rates once more by 25 basis points in November, while the Bank of England is scheduled to raise rates once more on Thursday. Despite Tuesday's advances, gold is still under severe pressure and is not far from lows not seen since April 2020 because keeping non-yielding bullion has a higher opportunity cost due to a general increase in borrowing costs.
Gold Dec ‘22 Futures Price Chart
Cotton under strain of the strong USD
The price of cotton futures fell to a 22-month low of 75.1 USd/Lbs under the strain of a stronger dollar and continuing demand worries brought on by difficult economic conditions. According to the most recent estimate from the US Department of Agriculture, both acreage and output grew, and worldwide cotton production is predicted to reach 118.1 million bales in 2022–23, a 2% rise over the previous year. China, Brazil, and India contributed more to the increase in output than the United States and Pakistan did to the decrease.
Cotton Dec ‘22 Futures Price Chart
Sources: finance.yahoo.com, tradingeconomics.com
