Federal Trade Commission Bans Market Manipulative Trading in Oil

After a brief flurry at higher levels the metals ended the day marginally lower. Traders pulled in their horns as the New York trading session drew to a close choosing to step aside until tomorrow’s employment data gets released.

Silver edged down 7 cents at $14.62. Gold slipped $3.00 to close at $961.00. Palladium fell $7.00 to $270.00. Platinum shed $35.00 to end the day at $1255.00. Trading was active.

Both of our day to day barometer’s are also currently trading to the downside. The Euro is changing hands at $1.4350 down 78/100ths of a cent versus the Dollar. Crude Oil is presently 18 cents lower at $71.79. Oil was down almost $2.00 at the session lows after the Federal Trade Commission issued its final ruling banning market manipulative trading practices in oil. We are not exactly sure what that entails; but traders were not happy. Adding insult to injury; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) lowered its forecast for the number expected Atlantic hurricanes. Crude has since recovered from the session lows.

Over in the stock market the Dow began the day on a higher note after the Weekly Initial Jobless Claims clocked in at better than expected levels. First time claims for unemployment came in at 550,000; better than the estimate of 580,000. The bullishness was short lived when traders began worrying about tomorrow’s real jobs report. Just another example of traders pulling in the horns.

As for tomorrow the latest estimate for Friday’s non Farm Payrolls calls for a loss of 328,000 jobs. If correct it would represent a big improvement over June’s loss of 467,000 and serve to reignite positive economic sentiment. The estimates will change by tomorrow.

Traders Selling Dollars in a Big Way

As the final trading week of July comes to a close the metals finished on a higher note. Silver went up 38 cents to $13.92. Gold tacked on $19.00 closing at $954.00. Palladium edged up $2.00 finishing the day at $262.00. Platinum gained $20.00 to $1201.00 per ounce. Trading volume was moderately heavy.

Once again our regular day to day barometers of Oil and Euro led the way. Today’s key event was a 1.76 cent surge in the Euro against our Dollar. While the Euro got some support from an additional $1.31 rise in the price of Oil, it was not the primary driving catalyst. According to sources in London, a powerful rumor started circulating throughout Europe regarding General Electric. The rumor indicated that GE’s financial arm GE Capital will announce the need for an additional $12-14 billion in bail out capital. (THIS IS A RUMOR ONLY) Even so, traders started to sell Dollars in a big way. Last on the Euro $1.4256.

Meanwhile Crude is trading at $68.25. Today’s economic data came in mixed with only the GDP worth mentioning. It clocked in with a smaller than expected decline of 1%. However;the prior quarter’s decline of 5.5% was revised lower to a 6.4% decline. Over in the stock market the Dow remained calm in the wake of the data and is apparently ignoring the GE rumor; at least so far. Last on the Dow 9180 up 26 points. When things get going next week traders will be focusing in the next Non Farm Payroll Report due out next Friday. On Monday the calendar contains a fresh look at Construction Spending, the ISM Manufacturing Index, and Auto Sales.  Have a great weekend.