Oil slips but stays above $101 on Egypt unrest

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Benchmark U.S. crude-oil futures slipped in electronic trade Thursday, but still hovered at their best level in more than a year following political unrest in Egypt. Crude for August delivery was off 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $101.17 a barrel. The Egyptian military announced late Wednesday, shortly after oil trading closed on the New York Mercantile Exchange, that it had ousted Mohammed Morsi as the country’s president and suspended the constitution, which Morsi’s critics have said unfairly favored his Islamist allies. Ahead of the announcement, oil prices in Wednesday’s Nymex session jumped by $1.64, or 1.7%, to $101.24 a barrel. Oil marked the highest settlement for a most-active contract since May 2012 as Morsi’s rejection of calls for his resignation intensified concerns about the oil sector in the Middle East. Nymex trading will be closed on Thursday for the U.S. Independence Day holiday, and will reopen on Friday. August futures for Brent crude also slipped on Thursday from strong gains logged in the previous day, shedding 12 cents, or 0.1%, to $105.64 a barrel on ICE Futures. On Wednesday, they climbed $1.76, or 1.7%. Oil prices on Wednesday also rose after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude-oil supplies dropped by 10.3 million barrels for the week ended June 28. Analysts polled by Platts were looking for a decline of 3 million barrels. The EIA also said weekly gasoline supplies and distillate stockpiles fell, while analysts had expected each to increase. In trading Thursday, August gasoline held at $2.84 a gallon, and August heating oil shed 1 cent, or 0.4%, to $2.94 a gallon. Natural gas for August delivery slipped less than 1 cent to $3.686 per million British thermal units.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 1:20 PM

Hong Kong Stocks Climb First Day in Three After U.S. Jobs Data

Bloomberg, (4/7) -- Hong Kong stocks climbed, with the benchmark equity index rebounding from two days of declines, after U.S. labor data beat estimates and China’s government said fiscal funds should be used to stabilize economic growth.

The Hang Seng Index increased 1.5 percent to 20,456.10 as of 1:15 p.m. in Hong Kong, with just four of the gauge’s 50 companies falling. Trading volume on the measure was 28 percent lower than its 30-day intraday average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland shares climbed 1.7 percent to 9,047.48.

“Investors are regaining confidence that the U.S. economy may not be so bad,” said Jackson Wong, vice president of Hong Kong-based brokerage Tanrich Securities Co. “Before, everyone was betting on China to boost growth. Now the focus is shifting back to the U.S.” The Hong Kong market has been oversold and investors are seeking to recoup losses, he said.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, also known as the H-share index, capped its worst first half since 2008 last week. The gauge closed 27 percent below its Feb. 1 high yesterday, with the measure trading at 1.07 times the value of net assets, a level not seen since the 2008 global financial crisis.

Just two of 11 industries on the Hang Seng Composite Index have advanced this year. Materials and energy companies led declines on signs China’s economic growth is slowing. Reports this week showed the country’s industrial expansion in manufacturing and services is losing pace as the government seeks to redirect the economy away from exports.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said fiscal funds should be used to redevelop shantytowns and improve basic infrastructure to stabilize the world’s second-largest economy. Money should be allocated to transform the structure of the economy to focus more on domestic consumption, the State Council said in a statement on its website yesterday.

China may post second-half economic growth of 7.6%, according to a State Information Center report published in China Securities Journal. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., China International Capital Corp., Barclays Plc and HSBC Holdings Plc last month pared their China growth projections for this year to 7.4 percent, below the government’s 7.5 percent goal.

Energy companies led gains on the Hang Seng Composite Index. West Texas Intermediate crude traded near the highest price in 14 months as U.S. stockpiles shrank the most this year and the ouster of Egypt’s president fanned concern unrest will disrupt Middle East oil supply.

Futures on the S&P 500 gained 0.1 percent as the country celebrates the July 4 holiday. The U.S. benchmark yesterday rose to the highest level in two weeks on better-than-estimated labor data as investors watched political developments in Portugal, where the splintering of the coalition government caused bond yields to surge, and in Egypt.

U.S. Jobless claims decreased to 343,000 in the week ended June 29 from a revised 348,000 in the prior period that was higher than initially reported, the Labor Department said today in Washington. An official report tomorrow will probably show the nation added 165,000 jobs in June.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 1:04 PM

China big banks June lending hit by cash crunch

China's four largest banks issued 270 billion yuan of new loans in June, with a credit crunch forcing banks to reduce lending, the 21st Century Business Herald reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources. Banks slowed their pace of lending in the second half of June after a surge in lending in the first half and as a cash crunch curbed their ability to issue new loans, the report said. In the last week of June for example, the banks reduced lending by about CNY23 billion compared with the week earlier. The cash squeeze sent the benchmark interbank lending rate rising to its highest level in nearly two years in late June. The newspaper previously reported that the big banks issued CNY233 billion of new loans in the first three weeks of May. The amount of loans extended by the big four banks fell in April and May as China moved to stem a surge in credit to lower the risk of debt and financial failure. Loans issued by the four banks--Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., Bank of China Ltd., China Construction Bank Corp. and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. -- typically account for 30% to 40% of the whole banking system's.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 12:08 PM

WTI Crude Trades Near One-Week High as Stockpiles Seen Falling

Bloomberg, (2/7) -- West Texas Intermediate traded near the highest level in more than a week on speculation U.S. crude stockpiles shrank for the first time in a month, signaling increased demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.

Futures were little changed in New York after rising 1.5 percent yesterday amid signs of U.S. economic growth and concern that unrest in Egypt may spread and disrupt Middle East oil supplies. Crude inventories probably fell by 2.63 million barrels last week, a Bloomberg News survey showed before a government report tomorrow. The American Petroleum Institute is scheduled to release separate supply data today.

WTI for August delivery was at $97.93 a barrel, down 6 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:30 p.m. Sydney time. The volume of all futures traded was 54 percent below the 100-day average. The contract climbed $1.43 to $97.99 yesterday, the highest close since June 19.

Brent for August settlement rose 6 cents to $103.06 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark grade was at a premium of $5.12 to WTI. The spread was $5.01 yesterday, the narrowest closing gap since Jan. 4, 2011, after dropping below $5 in intraday trading.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 12:58 PM

Respon data manufaktur AS positif, saham Jepang lanjutkan gain

Bloomberg, (2/7) - Indeks Topix kembali memperpanjang reli tiga hari terbesarnya dalam hampir tiga bulan terakhir mengikuti laporan aktivitas manufaktur AS yang naik lebih dari ekspektasi dan yen diperdagangkan mendekati level terendah empat pekan. Indeks Topix naik 0,7 persen menjadi 1,159.71 pada 11:07 pagi di Tokyo, dengan volume 21 persen di bawah 30-hari rata-rata intraday. Indeks itu naik 7,6 persen selama tiga hari terakhir perdagangannya, terbesar sejak 8 April lalu. Sementara, Indeks Nikkei 225 Stock Average naik 0,7 persen menjadi 13,941.31. Indeks Topix telah turun 9,8 persen sejak tertinggi 22 Mei hingga kemarin namun masih naik 34 persen sejak awal tahun di tengah optimisme bahwa Jepang mungkin akan mengalahkan kondisi deflasi dan mencapai pertumbuhan yang berkelanjutan. Investor yang menggunakan uang pinjaman untuk memperdagangan saham-saham Jepang kini berada dalam kondisi yang paling bullish sejak tahun 2000 - memberikan isyarat bahwa harapan terhadap reli ekuitas akan terus berlanjut. Jumlah saham Jepang yang dibeli melalui rekening margin yang mendapat keuntungan ketika saham naik telah mengalahkan jumlah mereka yang mendapat laba selama penurunan sekitar 7 banding 1, tertinggi selama 13 tahun, berdasarkan data yang dikumpulkan oleh Bloomberg. Yen menyentuh 99,86 per dolar kemarin, terendah sejak 5 Juni. Mata uang Jepang tersebut diperdagangkan pada posisi 99,54 hari ini pukul 11:08 pagi di Tokyo. Pelemahan yen meningkatkan nilai pendapatan luar negeri dari perusahaan-perusahaan Jepang saat konversikan. Perusahaan dalam survei Tankan Bank of Jepang, yang dirilis kemarin memperkirakan bahwa yen akan berada di rata-rata 91,20 per dolar pada tahun fiskal yang berakhir Maret 2014 mendatang dibandingkan dengan proyeksi 85.22 dalam laporan sebelumnya. Indeks Topix akan meningkat menjadi 1.270 pada akhir tahun, menurut 18 analis yang disurvei oleh Bloomberg News. Ini pertama kalinya estimasi rata-rata telah diturunkan sejak reli ekuitas Jepang dimulai pada pertengahan November tahun lalu. (brc)

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 10:12 AM

Gold Climbs for Third Day to Extend Rebound From 34-Month Low

Bloomberg, (2/7) -- Gold extended a rebound from a 34-month low, gaining for a third day, on speculation that lower prices will raise demand even as holdings in the largest bullion-backed exchange-traded product resumed a decline. Spot bullion rose as much as 0.5 percent to $1,259.17 an ounce and was at $1,254.38 at 10:06 a.m. in Singapore. Prices fell to $1,180.50 on June 28, the lowest since August 2010, before rising 2.8 percent that day and 1.5 percent yesterday. Benchmark contract volumes on the Shanghai Gold Exchange in the past week were more than three times last year’s daily average. Gold plunged 23 percent in the second quarter as investors speculated that the U.S. Federal Reserve will scale back monetary stimulus. Newsletter writer Dennis Gartman said yesterday that he’s very bullish on gold after the slump as central banks continue to inject money. There’s “strong” physical demand with bullion below $1,600 an ounce, according to Standard Bank Plc’s SBG Securities (Pty) Ltd. unit. “Physical demand is out there but not on the scale we saw in April,” said Huang Fulong, an analyst at CITICS Futures Co. “The recent short-covering rally is expected to continue before the U.S. holiday and payrolls data later this week,” said Huang, referring to some investors ending bets on price declines. The volume for spot bullion of 99.99 percent purity on the Shanghai Gold Exchange climbed to 15,978 kilograms yesterday from 14,660 kilograms on June 28. While volumes are elevated, China’s appetite to buy gold is much more muted compared with April, according to Barclays Plc. They reached a record 43,272 kilograms on April 22, according to exchange data. Physical demand jumped in April as Shanghai prices lost 7.4 percent. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the largest bullion-backed ETP, fell to 968.3 metric tons yesterday, the least since February 2009, after holding steady for three days. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said last month that the central bank may slow its bond-buying program this year should the economy continue to improve. Government data on July 5 is forecast to indicate U.S. employers continued to add jobs last month. U.S. markets are closed on July 4 for Independence Day. Gold for August delivery traded little changed at $1,256.10 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Holders of short contracts climbed 5 percent to 77,027 futures and options by June 25, the second-highest on record, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Money managers reduced their net-long position by 20 percent to the lowest since June 2007.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 10:09 AM

Asian Stocks Decline With Oil as China Output Slows; Yen Weakens

Bloomberg, (1/7) -- Asian stocks and oil fell after Chinese manufacturing expanded at the slowest pace in four months. The yen weakened against its 16 major trading partners after posting the worst first half since 1982 as government policies drove down the currency and manufacturers turned optimistic for the first time since September./

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.3 percent to 130.09, led lower by Australian banks and South Korean industrial firms. Oil slid for a second day and gold swung between gains and losses after the worst quarter since at least 1920. The yen fell 0.1 percent to 99.28 per dollar as of 11:52 a.m. in Tokyo. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slipped 0.2 percent after the gauge lost 1.5 percent in June.

China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 50.1 from 50.8 in May, according to statistics released in Beijing, as a cash squeeze reduced credit and President Xi Jinping said officials shouldn’t be judged only on their record in boosting the economy. The Bank of Japan’s Tankan report signaled the nation’s manufacturers turned optimistic for the first time since September 2011, showing confidence in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s reflationary policies. U.S. data due today is expected to show factories rebounded last month.

“China’s PMI reading is on expectations but obviously not a great number because it signals growth will grind lower,” said Sacha Tihanyi, a currency strategist at Scotiabank in Hong Kong. “Better PMI data due later in the U.S. could hurt Asia as it will add more ammunition to the theme of the Fed tapering asset purchases.”

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 11:44 AM