Dow rose 173 (with buying in the last 15 mins to close at the highs), advancers over decliners about 3-2 & NAZ advanced 47. The MLP index was flattish near 255 & the REIT index went up 5 to the 345s. Junk bond funds churned & Treasuries were off a tad. Oil sold off almost $1 to 62 (more below) & gold retreated 4 to 1227.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.8116015171332475)
Oil prices fell, briefly entered a bear market, after the US took measures to allow some of Iran's biggest customers to continue importing its oil without violating US sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The sanctions waivers have further eased concerns that the oil market will swing into a deficit of crude supplies. Expectations for weaker-than-anticipated global economic growth amid a continuing US-China trade dispute & currency weakness in emerging markets is also raising questions about demand for oil. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended the session down 89¢ (1.4%) to $62.21 a barrel. At the session low, WTI touched $61.31, falling more than 20% from last month's nearly 4-year high of $76.90. Intl Brent crude oil futures were down $1.27 (1.7%) at $71.90 a barrel. The contract touched a nearly 3-month low of $71.18, about 18% below last month's 4-year high of $86.74. The Trump administration reinstated sanctions on Iran's energy, banking & shipping industries, marking the end of a 180-day grace period the US set for oil buyers to wind down imports from Iran. However, the US granted temporary waivers to 8 countries, including China & India, the biggest purchasers of Iran's oil. The other countries allowed to continue importing Iranian crude for the time being are Greece, Italy, South Korea, Taiwan & Turkey. China will be allowed to import about 360K barres per day without triggering sanctions.
US crude tumbles 1.4%, settling at $62.21, after briefly entering bear market
The US Energy Information Administration raised its 2018 & 2019 forecasts on US crude-oil production, but lowered its price forecasts for US & global benchmark crude oil, according to the agency's Short-term Energy Outlook report released today. The EIA sees 2018 domestic crude production at 10.9M barrels per day, up 1.5% from the Oct forecast. It also lifted its 2019 output view by 2.6% to 12.06M barrels a day. The EIA, however, cut forecasts on 2018 West Texas Intermediate crude prices by 2.4% to $66.79 a barrel & by 6.8% to $64.85 for 2019. It cut its average Brent price outlook this year by 1.8% to $73.12 & the 2019 view by 4.2% to $71.92.
Traders were twiddling their thumbs today. The Fed will have an unexciting meeting later this week, but the outcome of elections is weighing on the minds of all. On balance, the bulls were in charge. So far, the Dow is up over 500 in Nov while the NAZ rose 70.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
German factory orders edged up unexpectedly in
Sep, pushed higher by demand from inside the country & elsewhere
in the 19-nation eurozone. The
Economy Ministry said that orders were up 0.3% compared
with the previous month, following a 2.5% rise in Aug. The forecast had expected a 0.5% decline. The
ministry said there was an above-average number of large orders. While
orders from inside Germany were up 2.8% & demand from other
eurozone countries rose 2.4%, there was a 3.7% drop in
orders from other foreign trading partners. Factory
orders are an important indicator for the German economy, Europe's
biggest, which so far has remained robust despite high global trade
tensions. For all Q3, orders were down 1%.
German factory orders edge higher in September
Oil prices fell, briefly entered a bear market, after the US took measures to allow some of Iran's biggest customers to continue importing its oil without violating US sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The sanctions waivers have further eased concerns that the oil market will swing into a deficit of crude supplies. Expectations for weaker-than-anticipated global economic growth amid a continuing US-China trade dispute & currency weakness in emerging markets is also raising questions about demand for oil. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended the session down 89¢ (1.4%) to $62.21 a barrel. At the session low, WTI touched $61.31, falling more than 20% from last month's nearly 4-year high of $76.90. Intl Brent crude oil futures were down $1.27 (1.7%) at $71.90 a barrel. The contract touched a nearly 3-month low of $71.18, about 18% below last month's 4-year high of $86.74. The Trump administration reinstated sanctions on Iran's energy, banking & shipping industries, marking the end of a 180-day grace period the US set for oil buyers to wind down imports from Iran. However, the US granted temporary waivers to 8 countries, including China & India, the biggest purchasers of Iran's oil. The other countries allowed to continue importing Iranian crude for the time being are Greece, Italy, South Korea, Taiwan & Turkey. China will be allowed to import about 360K barres per day without triggering sanctions.
US crude tumbles 1.4%, settling at $62.21, after briefly entering bear market
The US Energy Information Administration raised its 2018 & 2019 forecasts on US crude-oil production, but lowered its price forecasts for US & global benchmark crude oil, according to the agency's Short-term Energy Outlook report released today. The EIA sees 2018 domestic crude production at 10.9M barrels per day, up 1.5% from the Oct forecast. It also lifted its 2019 output view by 2.6% to 12.06M barrels a day. The EIA, however, cut forecasts on 2018 West Texas Intermediate crude prices by 2.4% to $66.79 a barrel & by 6.8% to $64.85 for 2019. It cut its average Brent price outlook this year by 1.8% to $73.12 & the 2019 view by 4.2% to $71.92.
EIA lifts U.S. crude output expectations, lowers oil-price forecasts
Iran's oil minister in a letter to the
OPEC chief, asked that the Joint Ministerial Monitoring
Committee, which consists of all OPEC & non-OPEC countries, be
dissolved because of its stance on the newly re-imposed US sanctions
on Iran. The minister, Bijan Zanganeh, said in
his letter to OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo that some
members of the committee "openly take side with the United States in
imposing unilateral and illegal sanctions against Iran." He added there is no reason to continue with JMMC. The committee is due to
hold a meeting next week in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, an ally of Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia. Zanganeh's
remarks were by Iran's official news agency IRNA. It's
unlikely, however, that his letter to OPEC would lead to the dissolution
of the committee. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the
decision of the US to re-impose sanctions on Iran "is not
legitimate" & that the rest of the parties in the 2015 nuclear deal
abandoned by the US are working to make economic cooperation with
Tehran possible. Lavrov spoke today in
Madrid, where he is holding talks with his Spanish counterpart. His
remarks are Russia's first reaction to the new list of
sanctions against Iran's vital oil exports, banking & transport
industries. The Russian diplomat says the
sanctions go against intl law & practices, & that the US
gov's "policies of issuing an ultimatum and making unilateral
moves are unacceptable these days." Spanish
Foreign Minister Josep Borrell has said that the US move raised
economic & security risk internationally & that the EU would work to realize the 2015 nuclear deal struck with Iran.
The Latest: Iran minister unhappy with OPEC committee stance
Traders were twiddling their thumbs today. The Fed will have an unexciting meeting later this week, but the outcome of elections is weighing on the minds of all. On balance, the bulls were in charge. So far, the Dow is up over 500 in Nov while the NAZ rose 70.
Dow Jones Industrials
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