Dow jumped up 227 (closing above 27K at session highs), advancers over decliners better than 2-1 & NAZ rose 85. The MLP index rose 1+ to 235 & the REIT index was flattish at 402 (still near its record highs made last week). Junk bond funds continued in demand & Treasuries were sold, remaining out of favor by investors. Oil fell 1+ to 56 & gold went up 6 to 1505 (more on both below).
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
House to vote on bills blocking Trump’s push to expand oil and gas drilling off US coasts
Oil futures declined, settling at their lowest in about a week, as a report that Pres Trump is considering easing sanctions on Iran raised the possibility of the return of the country's crude to the world market. Trump discussed easing sanctions on Iran in a move to secure a meeting with Iranian Pres Hassan Rouhani later this month, according to people familiar with the matter. The move comes a day after Trump announced that National Security Adviser John Bolton, who had argued to push Iranian oil exports to zero, stepped down. A weaker demand outlook from OPEC also fed the price decline, despite US government data showing a 4th straight weekly fall in domestic crude supplies. West Texas Intermediate crude for Oct fell $1.65 (2.9%) to settle at $55.75 a barrel, the lowest for a front-month contract since Sep 3. Nov Brent crude lost $1.57 (2.5%) to $60.81 a barrel, the lowest finish in a week. A big weekly drawdown in US crude supplies had provided some support for prices earlier today. OPEC lowered its forecast for global oil-demand growth in 2019 & 2020, citing weaker-than-expected data in H1 of this year from various global demand centers & slower economic growth projections. Also, the Energy Information Administration reported that US crude supplies fell by 6.9M lat week, a 4th weekly decline in a row. The forecast called for a fall of 3.6M barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute yesterday reported a drop of 7.2M barrels.
Gold futures reclaimed the key $1500-an-ounce mark, as traders weighed Pres Trump's latest tweet calling for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates down to zero, ahead of the central bank's meeting next week. Prices for the yellow metal had wavered between modest losses & gains, after 4 consecutive sessions of declines. Trump tweeting earlier today that the “Federal Reserve should get our interest rates down to ZERO, or less, & we should then start to refinance our debt.” The Fed will meet next week & it’s widely expected to announce an interest-rate cut. Gold for Dec tacked on $4 (0.3%) to settle at $1503 an ounce, reclaiming the psychologically important $1500 mark after settling below it yesterday for the first time in a month. Investors expect the ECB to deliver an interest rate cut & potentially other measures when policy makers meet tomorrow. Gold hit a string of more-than-6-year highs earlier this month as stocks sold off in Aug with the US-China trade war worsening, but has pulled back this month as equities have steadied. Gold is down around 1% so far this week & 2% since the end of Aug.
The Dow began the day around breakeven & then climbed all day as buyers returned to the market. No special news, but the ECB meets tomorrow & expectations are for it pass favorable action on the interest rates front. Next Wed the FOMC is widely expected to lower the interest rate by a qtr point. With the rise in Sep, the Dow is about 250 away from setting a new record which is energizing the bulls.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
In a move that could hamper Pres Trump's
push to expand offshore oil & gas development, the House of
Representatives is expected to vote on 3 bills today that
will block offshore drilling in almost all waters surrounding the US. The
legislation would ban drilling on both coasts of the US, in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge & in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. The
House already voted to block offshore drilling in those areas for one
year by including the amendments in the Dept of the Interior
budget. In
2017, Trump signed an exec order to start a 5-year development
plan for offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico & off the East Coast,
an effort to reverse former Pres Obama's drilling ban on
roughly 120M acres of Arctic Ocean & 3.8M acres in the
Atlantic. A federal judge later ruled that Trump's order to revoke the drilling ban was unlawful because it exceeded the president’s authority. One
bill at stake is the Arctic Cultural & Coastal Plain Protection Act, which would prevent the Trump
administration from opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in
Alaska to oil & gas drilling. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the largest wildlife sanctuary in the US which contains the country's 2nd biggest wilderness area, & is full
of caribou, wolves, polar bears & hundreds of bird species. In
2017, a Rep-controlled Congress passed a provision in the Tax
Cuts & Jobs Act to allow oil drilling in the Arctic sanctuary's
Coastal Plain, a strip of land that hosts more diversity of life than
nearly anywhere else in the Arctic. The proposed legislation would repeal the section of the 2017 law allowing for drilling. The House will also vote on the Coastal & Marine
Economies Protection Act which would
place a moratorium on offshore drilling & block the Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management from offering new areas for oil & gas leasing off
the California, Oregon & Washington state coastline & the Atlantic
Coast.
House to vote on bills blocking Trump’s push to expand oil and gas drilling off US coasts
Oil futures declined, settling at their lowest in about a week, as a report that Pres Trump is considering easing sanctions on Iran raised the possibility of the return of the country's crude to the world market. Trump discussed easing sanctions on Iran in a move to secure a meeting with Iranian Pres Hassan Rouhani later this month, according to people familiar with the matter. The move comes a day after Trump announced that National Security Adviser John Bolton, who had argued to push Iranian oil exports to zero, stepped down. A weaker demand outlook from OPEC also fed the price decline, despite US government data showing a 4th straight weekly fall in domestic crude supplies. West Texas Intermediate crude for Oct fell $1.65 (2.9%) to settle at $55.75 a barrel, the lowest for a front-month contract since Sep 3. Nov Brent crude lost $1.57 (2.5%) to $60.81 a barrel, the lowest finish in a week. A big weekly drawdown in US crude supplies had provided some support for prices earlier today. OPEC lowered its forecast for global oil-demand growth in 2019 & 2020, citing weaker-than-expected data in H1 of this year from various global demand centers & slower economic growth projections. Also, the Energy Information Administration reported that US crude supplies fell by 6.9M lat week, a 4th weekly decline in a row. The forecast called for a fall of 3.6M barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute yesterday reported a drop of 7.2M barrels.
Oil prices end at lowest in a week as Trump reportedly weighs easing sanctions on Iran
Gold futures reclaimed the key $1500-an-ounce mark, as traders weighed Pres Trump's latest tweet calling for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates down to zero, ahead of the central bank's meeting next week. Prices for the yellow metal had wavered between modest losses & gains, after 4 consecutive sessions of declines. Trump tweeting earlier today that the “Federal Reserve should get our interest rates down to ZERO, or less, & we should then start to refinance our debt.” The Fed will meet next week & it’s widely expected to announce an interest-rate cut. Gold for Dec tacked on $4 (0.3%) to settle at $1503 an ounce, reclaiming the psychologically important $1500 mark after settling below it yesterday for the first time in a month. Investors expect the ECB to deliver an interest rate cut & potentially other measures when policy makers meet tomorrow. Gold hit a string of more-than-6-year highs earlier this month as stocks sold off in Aug with the US-China trade war worsening, but has pulled back this month as equities have steadied. Gold is down around 1% so far this week & 2% since the end of Aug.
The Dow began the day around breakeven & then climbed all day as buyers returned to the market. No special news, but the ECB meets tomorrow & expectations are for it pass favorable action on the interest rates front. Next Wed the FOMC is widely expected to lower the interest rate by a qtr point. With the rise in Sep, the Dow is about 250 away from setting a new record which is energizing the bulls.
Dow Jones Industrials
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