Dollar Set for Weekly Gain Before Data on Housing, Goods Orders

Bloomberg, (21/6) -- The dollar headed for a weekly gain against all of its 16 major peers before U.S. data next week on home prices and durable-goods orders that may add to the case for the Federal Reserve to slow its bond purchases. The yen snapped a four-day decline against the greenback as Asian stocks extended a global rout before a speech today by Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda. Deutsche Bank AG’s G10 FX Carry Basket index fell to the lowest level since September as borrowing costs rose in the U.S. “I expect the dollar to remain resilient because it’s become clear that the Fed’s policy stance is tapering,” said Yuki Sakasai, a foreign-exchange strategist at Barclays Plc in New York. The yen may weaken further as “there’s a sufficiently good chance that the Bank of Japan will have to introduce additional monetary easing.' The dollar traded little changed at $1.3216 per euro as of 10:13 a.m. in Tokyo, set for a 1 percent advance on the week. The yen was little changed at 97.29 per dollar and added 0.1 percent to 128.55 against the euro.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 10:35 AM

WTI Crude Drops a Second Day on Rising Stockpiles, Fed Easing

Bloomberg, (20/6) -- West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a second day after U.S. stockpiles unexpectedly increased and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank may start reducing bond purchases later this year.   U.S. crude inventories rose by 313,000 barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said yesterday. Supplies were forecast to decline by 500,000 barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey. The Fed may begin tapering bond purchases this year and end them in 2014 should the economy continue to improve, Bernanke said in Washington. WTI for July delivery, which expires today, dropped as much as 89 cents to $97.35 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The volume of all futures traded was 12 percent above the 100-day average. Prices decreased 20 cents to $98.24 yesterday. The more actively traded August contract was down 80 cents at $97.68 at 11:39 a.m. Sydney time. Brent for August settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange lost as much as 97 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $105.15 a barrel. The European benchmark grade was at a premium of $7.58 to WTI futures, from $7.64 yesterday.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 10:22 AM

China shares down 0.74% in morning trade

Telequote, (20/6) -- Chinese shares were down 0.74 percent in early trading on Thursday after the government ruled out the possibility of monetary easing in the short term, dealers said. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 15.82 points to 2,127.63. Premier Li Keqiang said Wednesday at a meeting that China would stick to prudent monetary policy, state media reported, dashing hopes of a cut in interest rates or banks' reserve requirements to boost the domestic economy.

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PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 9:10 AM

SPDR Gold Holdings Slump Below 1,000 Tons as $30 Billion Erased

Bloomberg, (20/6) -- Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest exchange-traded product backed by bullion, fell below 1,000 metric tons for the first time in four years, wiping $30 billion from the value of the fund this year. Assets slumped 351.3 tons, or 26 percent, this year to 999.56 tons, the lowest since February 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Holdings reached a record 1,353.35 tons in December. Billionaire John Paulson is the biggest investor. Bullion sank to a one-month low today after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said asset purchases may be reduced later this year as the economy strengthens. The drop in holdings underscores how some investors have lost faith in the metal as a store of value amid low inflation and a global equity rally. “Gold’s weakness is related to the willingness to take risk and we expect ETF liquidation to continue in the coming months,” said Dominic Schnider, head of commodities research at UBS AG’s wealth-management unit in Singapore. “Many of the SPDR investors are in the U.S. and people there probably feel that there are better opportunities” elsewhere, he said. Bullion declined 20 percent in 2013, sliding into a bear market in April, as the MSCI All-Country World Index of equities climbed 6.7 percent, and the dollar gained 2 percent against a basket of six major currencies. Gold rallied for 12 years through 2012 as the Fed cut borrowing costs to a record to bolster the economy. Bernanke said yesterday the central bank, which currently buys $85 billion of Treasury and mortgage debt each month, may begin reducing purchases this year and end the program in 2014 should the U.S. economy continue to improve. The Federal Open Market Committee raised its U.S. growth forecasts for 2014. Cash gold lost as much as 0.9 percent to $1,339.60 an ounce, the cheapest since May 20, and traded at $1,340.55 at 8:26 a.m. Singapore time. While prices rebounded from a more than two-year low of $1,321.95 on April 16 as the rout spurred a purchasing frenzy of coins, bars and jewelry from China to India and the U.S., they have tumbled 30 percent from an all-time high of $1,921.15 in September 2011. U.S. government filings in May showed billionaire investor George Soros joined funds run by Northern Trust Corp. and BlackRock Inc. in cutting holdings in SPDR assets in the first quarter. Paulson kept his stake of 21.8 million shares. Paulson posted a 13 percent decline in his Gold Fund last month, according to a letter to investors. The drop brings losses in the strategy to 54 percent since the start of the year, the firm said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News. The Gold Fund is the smallest strategy of the $19 billion money manager, with about $360 million, or 2 percent of assets, most of it Paulson’s own money. Holdings in global ETPs backed by gold shrank 517.4 tons, or 20 percent this year, to 2,114.6 tons, the least since March 2011, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Assets reached a record 2,632.52 tons in December. The number of hedge funds investing in gold globally shrank to 290 in May, the lowest since 2010, from 310 in December, with their assets slumping 31 percent this year to $22.2 billion on losses and redemptions, according to EurekaHedge Pte Ltd., a Singapore-based fund-research company. “The ETF size and the outflows from the ETF market have a disproportionate effect on the sentiment of the market because of their extreme visibility,” Mark Keenan, an analyst at Societe Generale SA, said this week on Bloomberg Television’s “First Up” with Zeb Eckert. “We see ultimately about 800 tons coming out of the ETFs for this year.”

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 9:08 AM

Perubahan paradigma membawa emas meluncur ke $1200 :SocGen

Marketwatch, (18/6) -- Kejatuhan harga emas yang cukup cepat di beberapa waktu lalu membuat analis dari Sociate General pada Senin kemarin memangkas perkiraan akhir tahun untuk si logam kuning tersebut. Dalam catatan terbarunya, analis yang dipimpin oleh kepala peneliti komoditi Michael Haigh memprediksi penurunan ke $1200 per ounce hingga akhir tahun, turun dari estimasi yang diberikan pada 2 April lalu di $1375 - perubahan yang terjadi karena emas sekarang tengah merubah arah mendekati $1382 - $1600. Dalam dalam tulisannya, 'kami percaya bahwa aksi selloff dramatis di bulan April, dikombinasikan dengan prospek dimulainya pengurangan pelonggaran kuantitatif sebelum akhir tahun, telah menghasilkan perubahan paradigma dari tingkah laku investor terhadap harga emas, yang kemungkinan juga akan menghasilkan kelanjutan penjualan dalam skala besar pada ETF emas tahun ini dan mungkin hingga tahun depan. Penjualan ETF emas telah rata-rata mencapai 100 ton per bulan sejak selloff April. Kami perkirakan bahwa kelanjutan penjualan pada ETF akan melampaui tingginya permintaan untuk perhiasan/koin dan emas batangan. Oleh karenanya kami merevisi turun target harga emas untuk kuartal empat 2013 ke $1200 per ounce. Dari hal tersebut berarati 13.2 persen kelanjutan penurunan pada harga emas. Hingga Jumat, emas untuk kontrak pengiriman segera telah jatuh 17.2 persen sejak awal tahun. (brc)

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 10:59 AM

Saham Hong Kong Turun karena harga kenaikan rumah di Cina

Bloomberg, (18/6) - Bursa Hong Kong menurun di tengah kekhawatiran kenaikan luas dalam harga- harga rumah di Cina akan membatasi ruang lingkup untuk pelonggaran moneter. Indeks Hang Seng kehilangan  0,7 persen menjadi 21,076.42 pukul  9:33 pagi  di Hong Kong. Sekitar empat saham melemah untuk setiap satu Saham yang naik  pada 50 anggota Bluechips, dengan volume 11 persen di atas 30  hari rata-rata intraday. Index Hang Seng China Enterprises turun 0,8 persen menjadi 9.668.(Gio)

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 9:49 AM

Gold holds steady ahead of Fed meeting

Reuters, (18/6) -- Gold was little changed on Tuesday as investors awaited guidance from a Federal Reserve meeting on the outlook for the bank's stimulus programme, amid some strong U.S. economic data. Spot gold was near steady, easing $0.40 to $1,383.95 an ounce by 0018 GMT. Bullion fell about 0.5 percent on Monday as U.S. stocks rallied ahead of the Fed policy meeting over Tuesday and Wednesday. U.S. gold also marked time, rising $0.40 to $1,383.5. Markets are closely watching for any clues on whether the Fed will wind down its $85 billion monthly bond buying program, which has supported gold prices. Recent strong U.S. data has increased speculation the Fed could taper the program soon. The majority of U.S. homebuilders view conditions in the industry as favourable for the first time since the start of the housing crisis seven years ago, with an industry report showing confidence in the sector surged in June. Any scale-back of the stimulus would hurt gold, which is typically seen as a hedge against inflation. Bullion is down 17 percent so far this year as investors have shunned its safe-haven appeal, while global stocks have rallied. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, stood at 1,003.17 tonnes on Monday -- their lowest in more than four years.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 9:45 AM