Tag Archives: US Dollar
Diwali Gold Buying May Be The Safest Since 1996
In light of the gold buying tradition for the upcoming Diwali festival in India, many might be wondering how valuable their gifts may be based on the price of gold. Several factors influence the price of gold that make timing gold as an investment difficult; however, now there might be upside potential for gold, especially since its…
- Categories Commodities, India
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- Commodities, India
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Metals Never Had An August This Hot
In August, the Dow Jones Commodity Index Total Return gained 0.7%, reducing its year-to-date loss to -1.4%, and the S&P GSCI Total Return lost 0.8%, increasing its year-to-date loss to -6.9%. Industrial metals and precious metals were the only positive sectors, up 8.6% and 4.0%, respectively, while agriculture was the worst performing sector, losing 7.4%,…
- Categories Commodities
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Happy Valentine’s Day: Cocoa Hits Lowest Since 2008
If you buy a little extra chocolate this year for your Valentine, your wallet will be as happy as your sweetheart. The S&P GSCI Cocoa is at its lowest level (closing Feb. 10, 2017) since Nov. 13, 2008. It is down 31.3% since last year and is the single commodity with the biggest loss in…
- Categories Commodities
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- Commodities
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Industrial Metals On Pace For Worst Month In 4 Years
While most of the markets have calmed as investors wait for Brexit and the Fed rate decision, industrial metals are crashing. The S&P GSCI Industrial Metals Total Return is down 8.7% month-to date (through May 23, 2016,) and on pace to record its worst month since May 2012, when it lost 9.7%. At this rate, the…
- Categories Commodities
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- Commodities
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Metals Don’t Reflect Chinese Demand Growth
After China reported year-over-year first-quarter growth that showed signs of improvement, it overpowered negative news of the Doha oil production meeting failure and sent commodities rallying. Investors’ attention quickly shifted from oil to the other economically sensitive sector, industrial metals. Many believe the uses for metals in construction and automobile manufacturing are the driving force behind the sector….
- Categories Commodities
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Every Commodity Benefits From A Falling Dollar
For the first time since June 2014, the Dollar Spot Index yoy% was negative in March. That was one of the main reasons commodities had such a strong month with the S&P GSCI gaining 4.9% and Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) up 4.0%. Since commodities are priced in US dollars, when the dollar rises, it…
- Categories Commodities
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Biggest Commodity Comeback Ever
St. Patrick’s Day didn’t just have a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but had basically the whole commodity basket. The S&P GSCI that represents the world’s most significant commodities, ended Mar. 17 with a positive total return year-to-date for the first time in 2016, up 1.9%. The index reached its highest level…
- Categories Commodities
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Dollar’s Revival Adds New Life To These Commodities
It makes sense that a strong US dollar is generally bad for commodities since as the U.S dollar strengthens, goods priced in dollars become more expensive for other currencies. However, historically the U.S. dollar has a negative correlation of only about -0.30 with the S&P GSCI as shown in the chart below using data since 1970: This may…
- Categories Commodities
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- Commodities
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Fallen Gold May Help India’s Diwali and Monetisation Plan Shine
Could India’s gold obsession be over? The Indian government seems to think so, since they are betting that their people are willing to part with their precious metal to earn just 2.5% interest. Last Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched three programmes aimed at reducing physical gold demand and luring tonnes of gold from households into the banking system. That’s…
- Categories Commodities, India
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A Strong U.S. Dollar Isn’t Bad For All Commodities
A strong US dollar is generally bad news for commodities since historically as the U.S dollar strengthens, goods priced in dollars become more expensive for other currencies. The historical negative relationship between the U.S. dollar and the S&P GSCI is shown below. While the broad based indices are negatively correlated with the U.S. dollar, some commodities are more…
- Categories Commodities
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