Dow dropped 269 (near session lows), decliners over advancers 2-1 & NAZ climbed 63. The MLP index lost 5 to 180 & the REIT index fell 2+ to the 480. Junk bond funds drifted lower & Treasuries had heavy buying. Oil fell back 2+ to the 76s & gold was off 10 to 1851 (more below).
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
Doctors are urging caution to prevent Covid-19 outbreaks as cases rise nationwide following a nearly 3-week plateau & Americans prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends & family next week. The US reported a seven-day average of nearly 95K new Covid infections yesterday, up 31% over the past 2 weeks, according to Johns Hopkins University. Cases across the country declined for weeks this fall before hovering between 70-75K per day beginning in late Oct, down more than 50% from the peak of the delta surge that ravaged the US this summer. With the holiday season approaching & cold weather driving more people to meet indoors, public health officials are hoping to mitigate against another record-setting Covid wave this winter. Last Christmas preceded the country's worst Covid spike with cases peaking at more than 250K per day on Jan 11. Deaths from the virus also hit a pandemic high of roughly 3400 per day in early 2021. The combination of Thanksgiving, Christmas & falling temperatures makes this time of year the perfect storm for Covid. Infectious disease specialists widely agree that it's safe to celebrate the holidays with friends & family as long as everybody's immunized against Covid. But a new study from the Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center found that ½ of respondents wouldn't ask for the vaccination status of guests at their gatherings & some 54% said they wouldn't request that unvaccinated partygoers test negative for the virus.
Covid cases rise yet again in U.S. ahead of Thanksgiving holiday
Austria will enter a 4th national lockdown on Mon as Covid-19 cases continue to surge, becoming the first country in Western Europe to impose stringent measures this fall. The country's unvaccinated are already barred from leaving their homes for non-essential purposes. Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said that those lockdown measures would be extended to the entire country from Mon. The lockdown would last for a maximum of 20 days, Schallenberg added, but would initially be put in place for 10 days. In a first for the region, he also announced that Covid vaccination would become mandatory in Austria from Feb 1. Yesterday, Austria recorded 15K new cases of Covid-19, setting a new record high for daily positive tests. Hospitalizations, deaths & the number of Covid patients in ICU are also rising fast in Austria. Covid woes are being felt all over Europe as the 4th wave of the pandemic sweeps across the region, prompting many govs to tighten restrictions on their populations. Germany & the Netherlands' new daily case numbers smashed records yesterday, while France reported numbers not seen since Aug.
Austria re-imposes a full Covid lockdown and makes vaccination mandatory
Oil prices fell to a 6-week low as new Covid lockdowns sparked demand concerns just as industry players signal a return of supply. But for consumers looking for some reprieve at the pump, the declines aren't likely to immediately translate into lower gas prices. The national average for a gallon of gas stood around a 7-year high of $3.41, up from $3.34 one month ago & $2.12 last year. The US benchmark for oil (WTI) sank more than 4% to a session low of $75.37, a price not seen since Oct 7. Crude traded in the green earlier in the day, but fell into negative territory following news of Austria's lockdowns. The demand rebound has been a key driver of oil's recovery this year & any indication that it might thaw will spook market participants. Both WTI & Brent had a 4th straight week of losses, which is the longest weekly losing streak since Mar 2020. While today's decline is the largest for oil since Jul, the commodity’s been trending lower over the last few weeks. The Biden Administration has repeatedly said it's exploring ways to ease the burden that higher oil is putting on consumers in the form of gas prices, which are hovering around a 7-year high. One option would be for the administration to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Oil's steadily climbed higher throughout 2021 with WTI hitting a 7-year high of $85.41 on Oct 25. Since then, it's down 11.5%. Despite the recent weakness, US oil is still up 55% for 2021.
Oil prices fall 4% to six-week low on lockdown worries, but don’t expect much relief at the pump yet
Gold futures settled at their lowest in more than a week on the back of a sharp drop in oil prices & a rise in the $ to around the highest level in about 16 months. Dec gold fell by $9 (0.5%) to settle at $1851 an ounce — the lowest most-active contract settlement since Nov 10. Reports of rising cases of COVID & lockdowns in Europe were dimming appetite for risk-taking by investors. That provided support for the $ — & boosted gold in early dealings, as both are viewed as safe-haven assets. For the week, gold declined 0.9%, based on the most-active contract.
Crude-oil prices settled at their lowest in about 7 weeks, down a 4th straight week to post the longest streak of declines in almost 20 months. Prices took a hit in response to a fresh lockdown in Austria, & rising COVID cases in Europe, which could eventually chip away at demand for the commodity should more countries impose COVID-19 restrictions. West Texas Intermediate crude for Dec slumped 3.7% ($2.91) to settle at $76.10 a barrel on the contract's expiration day. Jan WTI, which is now the front month, settled at $75.94, down $2.47 (3.2%). Jan Brent crude tumbled 2.9% ($2.35) to settle at $78.89 a barrel. The US crude benchmark settled at its lowest since Oct 1, down 5.8% for the week, based on the front months, while Brent crude marked its lowest finish since Sep 30, losing 4% from the week-ago settlement. Both benchmarks were down a 4th week in a row, the longest losing streak since the period ended Mar 27, 2020. Austria & Germany have seen record COVID cases this week & investors were also rattled after German Health Minister Jens Spahn reportedly spoke of a grave situation amid a new wave of infections, & he could not rule out lockdowns. The gov also announced restrictions for unvaccinated people.
Oil settles at a 7-week low as rising Europe COVID cases may hurt on demand
Dow Jones Industrials
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