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7 Oct 2013
Gold moves upwards whilst oil tumbles as US Budget Impasse Festers
FXstreet.com (Athens) – Commodities are heading in opposite directions on early European trading, as the spot price of gold is moving higher while oil falls due to the US government closure and amidst fears about a looming US debt default.
The American dollar moves a bit higher today after the sharp fall on Friday. On Friday, the greenback fall for the first time in six sessions against a basket of currencies but was still within striking distance of a recent eight-month low as the U.S. government closure and fears about a debt default kept investors cautious. Moreover, the U.S. dollar index last traded up 0.5 percent at 80.145, rebounding from Thursday's eight-month low of 79.627. The index lost 0.17 percent on the week, its fourth straight week with a loss. Today at the first trading day of the week, on early European trading session, the American dollar is trading lower against its major counter-parts, excluding the commodity currencies which suffer a lot, mostly to risk-off sentiment, but also due to the fact that the World Bank cut China 2013 growth outlook to 7.5% from 8.3% previously estimated. At the time of writing, the greenback is gaining 0.13% and 0.20% against the “Aussie” and the “Kiwi” respectively, but is underperforming against the rest of its major counter parts, i.e. down 0.42% versus the Japanese currency, down 0.35% versus the “Swissie”, down 0.23% versus the sterling and finally down 0.13% versus the common currency, as well.
Crude oil is moving sharply lower today, down 0.51%, while Brent Crude oil also is setting up a lower trend, heading down 0.29%. On Friday, oil eked out its first gain in three weeks as half of oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was offline from an approaching storm. More precisely, U.S. oil ended the day 53 cents higher at $103.84 a barrel after trading as high as $104.19. The front-month contract ended the week with a 0.94 percent gain. Furthermore, Brent crude oil ended 46 cents higher at $109.46 a barrel, after trading as high as $109.77. It is noteworthy, that Brent ended the week less than one percent higher, following three weeks of losses.
Gold fell on Friday as the U.S. dollar recovered from two-month lows and investors braced for the political stalemate in Washington to drag on for another week, while platinum rose as water restrictions threatened to roil South African mines. Last but not least, at the time of writing, spot gold is at $1,309.29 an ounce, up 0.26 percent. Finally, traders should bear in mind that gold market notched a loss of over 2 percent on the past week.
The American dollar moves a bit higher today after the sharp fall on Friday. On Friday, the greenback fall for the first time in six sessions against a basket of currencies but was still within striking distance of a recent eight-month low as the U.S. government closure and fears about a debt default kept investors cautious. Moreover, the U.S. dollar index last traded up 0.5 percent at 80.145, rebounding from Thursday's eight-month low of 79.627. The index lost 0.17 percent on the week, its fourth straight week with a loss. Today at the first trading day of the week, on early European trading session, the American dollar is trading lower against its major counter-parts, excluding the commodity currencies which suffer a lot, mostly to risk-off sentiment, but also due to the fact that the World Bank cut China 2013 growth outlook to 7.5% from 8.3% previously estimated. At the time of writing, the greenback is gaining 0.13% and 0.20% against the “Aussie” and the “Kiwi” respectively, but is underperforming against the rest of its major counter parts, i.e. down 0.42% versus the Japanese currency, down 0.35% versus the “Swissie”, down 0.23% versus the sterling and finally down 0.13% versus the common currency, as well.
Crude oil is moving sharply lower today, down 0.51%, while Brent Crude oil also is setting up a lower trend, heading down 0.29%. On Friday, oil eked out its first gain in three weeks as half of oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was offline from an approaching storm. More precisely, U.S. oil ended the day 53 cents higher at $103.84 a barrel after trading as high as $104.19. The front-month contract ended the week with a 0.94 percent gain. Furthermore, Brent crude oil ended 46 cents higher at $109.46 a barrel, after trading as high as $109.77. It is noteworthy, that Brent ended the week less than one percent higher, following three weeks of losses.
Gold fell on Friday as the U.S. dollar recovered from two-month lows and investors braced for the political stalemate in Washington to drag on for another week, while platinum rose as water restrictions threatened to roil South African mines. Last but not least, at the time of writing, spot gold is at $1,309.29 an ounce, up 0.26 percent. Finally, traders should bear in mind that gold market notched a loss of over 2 percent on the past week.