Dow finished up 152 (inches away from its Aug record), advancers over decliners 2-1 & NAZ slid back 7. The MLP index went up 2+ to the 201s & the REIT index jumped 7+ to the 471s. Junk bond funds continued mixed & Treasuries were flattish. Oil jumped 1+ to the 84s & gold advanced 16 to 1786.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the gov won't be implementing the so-called “plan B” strategy of its fall-winter Covid plan, defying warnings from health leaders that the country risks “stumbling into a winter crisis.” “We are looking closely at the data and we won’t be implementing our plan B of contingency measures at this point,” Javid said, speaking at the gov's first coronavirus press conference in more than a month. “But we will be staying vigilant, preparing for all eventualities while strengthening our vital defenses that can help us fight back against this virus.” Javid said the NHS was “performing with distinction,” acknowledging that the health service was seeing greater pressure but rejected the suggestion that this pressure was unsustainable. “We will do what it takes to make sure that this pressure doesn’t become unsustainable and that we don’t allow the NHS to become overwhelmed.” Javid said winter poses the “greatest threat” to the recovery from Covid, adding that cases could yet climb as high as 100K per day. It comes shortly after the National Health Service Confederation (NHS), which represents organizations across the UK healthcare sector, warned some Covid restrictions must be reintroduced “without delay” if the gov is to keep people healthy & prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed this winter. This is because the NHS is seeing a “worrying” increase in Covid cases in hospitals & the community as it prepares for a busy winter period, they added.
UK health minister says Covid cases may hit 100,000 a day in winter
Jet fuel prices are rising to levels not seen since before the Covid pandemic & it's set to drive up airfares, United Airlines (UAL) CEO Scott Kirby said. “Higher jet fuel prices lead to higher ticket prices,” Kirby added. “Ultimately, we’ll pass that through.” UAL
forecast average fuel costs of $2.39 a gallon in Q4,
when it expects a surge in bookings from the end-of-year holidays &
recently loosened intl travel restrictions. That's up from
$2.14 a gallon in Q3 & the $2.02 on average it paid in
Q4-2019. US jet fuel yesterday was $2.3282 a gallon up more than 115% from a year ago. Kirby
said higher demand usually drives fuel prices up. The increase in
travel is a welcome trend for an industry that continues to struggle to
return to profitability. The stock fell 27¢.
If you would like to learn more about UAL, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/UAL?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
United CEO says company will pass on higher jet fuel prices, takes swipe at rivals’ strategies
Surging used
vehicle prices suggest
inflation will strengthen in early 2022. Wholesale used car & truck prices jumped 8.3% in the first 15 days of
Oct compared to the month of Sep, according to the Manheim
Used Vehicle Value Index. Used car prices have soared 37% over the past 12 months as a global
chip shortage caused automakers to rein in production, boosting demand
for pre-owned vehicles. Prices have also seen a boost due to
pent-up demand coming out of the pandemic with many consumers having
more cash to spend due to gov stimulus measures. Used
vehicle prices make up about 4% of the core consumer price index basket
but have added almost one percentage point increase. Core
CPI, which excludes food & energy, rose 4% year over year in Oct.
However, that included a 24.4% annual increase in used car prices –
more than 12 percentage points below the rise in the Manheim Used
Vehicle Value Index. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has said the recent bout of
inflation is "transitory" & that price increases will recede as supply
chain bottlenecks ease. The Fed, at its upcoming Nov
meeting, is expected to lay out its plans for tapering its $120B
per month in asset purchases. However, rate hikes are unlikely to begin
for several months. While the Fed expects inflation to moderate,
there are signs that pricing pressures could grow even
stronger next year.
Soaring used car prices suggest inflation headwinds to intensify
Gold futures settled higher for a 2nd day in a row, as support from concerns over a rise in inflation outweighed pressure from strength in Treasury yields. Fed Governor Randal Quarles said that he wants to focus more attention on whether inflation will drop back down towards the Fed's 2% target than on the labor market. He said he most of his colleagues on the Fed's interest rate committee expect inflation to begin its descent toward 2% over the next year. The Fed Beige Book on current US economic conditions, released shortly after gold futures settled for the session, said the economy is growing at a “modest to moderate rate” & that most parts of the country report “significantly elevated prices.” Dec gold climbed by $14 (0.8%) to settle at $1784 an ounce, ahead of the Beige Book report. Shortly after the report's release, gold futures were at $1786 in electronic trading. Prices based on the most-active gold contract marked their highest finish since Oct 14. The yellow metal has gotten some traction this week as the $ has softened, with the ICE U.S. Doll, down 0.4% so far this week, while gold was headed for a weekly advance of around 1%.
Gold futures post back-to-back gains, supported by rising inflation
Oil futures finished higher, buoyed by a surprise weekly decline in US crude inventories and a drop in gasoline stocks to their lowest in almost 2 years, even as China's move to bolster coal supplies looked to dull the outlook for oil demand. The Energy Information Administration reported that US crude inventories fell for the first time in 4 weeks, down by 400K barrels last week. That defied expectations for an average 2M-barrel climb expected. The American Petroleum Institute reported a 3.3M-barrel increase. On its expiration day, West Texas Intermediate crude for Nov rose 91¢ (1.1%) to end at $83.87 a barrel, up a 5th straight session. Front-month contract prices posted the highest close since 2014. Dec WTI crude, the most active, & now front-month contract, added 98¢ (1.2%) to settle at $83.42 a barrel. Dec Brent crude, the global benchmark, climbed by 74¢ (0.9%) to $85.82 a barrel, logging the highest settlement since 2018. The fall in crude supplies prompted US benchmark oil prices to move up more sharply than Brent, which saw limited gains following news on China. Beijing's top economic planner this week vowed to use “all necessary means” to roll back record coal prices, including domestic laws that let the gov limit profit & prices for essential goods. China also ordered all coal mines to operate at full capacity, including during holidays, approved new mines & ordered major coal production bases in north & northwestern China to lower prices by 100 yuan a metric ton beginning Tues. Soaring coal & natural-gas prices helped drive crude to recent highs as coal- & gas-fired power generators, particularly in Asia, began switching to oil.
U.S. oil prices up a 5th session as domestic supplies post a surprise decline
The fuel companies are having an excellent year following last year which was their worst year. Oil, natural gas & coal are all in heavy demand. That will probably get OPEC+ to end the production cuts which were put in place last year. Meanwhile, nervous investors worried about the threat of higher inflation are buying Treasures & gold.
Dow Jones Industrials
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