News

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US Oil trades at $58.90 on Thursday at the time of writing, down 0.80% on the day, extending its decline for a third consecutive day.

The Japanese Yen (JPY) trades on the front foot against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday, as the Greenback weakens following a strong multi-day rally. At the time of writing, USD/JPY is trading around 153.13, down over 0.50% on the day.

The US stocks continue to move lower with the NASDAQ index now down -1.62%. The S&P index is down close to 1% is momentum increases lower.

Looking at the NASDAQ index it is approaching its 200 hour moving average currently at 23046.40. The low price of just reached at 23099.23.The 50% of the move up from the October low is also in play at 23094 – just above the low for the day so far.

The S&P has already broken below its 200 hour moving average at 6742.26. Staying below that level would give the sellers in control. The price is also testing/dipping below the 50% midpoint of the move up from the October low. The low comes in at 6735.56. The current price is trading at 6731.

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.

Goldman Sachs is now expecting that the Bank of England will cut rates by 25 basis points in December after their interest rate decision today. About today was 5 – 4 with the 4 dissenters arguing for a cut of 25 basis points.

Governor Bailey signalled that the BoE is likely to follow a gradual downward path for rates, provided inflation continues to ease. He emphasised that the committee is not yet ready to cut rates because it wants to observe clearer evidence that inflation is on a sustained downward trajectory.

He noted that inflation remains “a long way above” the 2 % target, so the BoE must remain cautious about risks of persistence—particularly pay and price setting reversal or “second-round” effects from food and energy inflation.

At the same time, Bailey acknowledged that economic activity is weak—for example the labour market is showing signs of softening—and thus there are two opposing forces: sticky inflation on one hand, and weak demand on the other.

With Bailey siding with the “keep rates unchanged” he may once again be the deciding vote in December. The BOE meets again on December 18.

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.

The GBP/USD recovers some ground yet trades off daily highs as the Bank of England held rates unchanged, on a “dovish” hold as the vote split hints that the December meeting is open. The pair trades at 1.3080, up 0.26%.

CarMax said board member David McCreight, a retail clothing executive who has served as CEO of Lulu’s Fashion Lounge Holdings, will serve as interim CEO.

The Energy Act of 2020 directed the USGS to update the list of critical minerals, and the list is timely to provide guidance for use of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds, both for the USGS and other agencies. The act also indicates that at least every three years, the Department of the Interior must review and update the list of critical minerals, update the methodology used to identify potential critical minerals, take interagency feedback and public comment through the Federal Register, and ultimately finalize the list of critical minerals.

The 2022 list of critical minerals includes the following

• Aluminum, used in almost all sectors of the economy
• Antimony, used in lead-acid batteries and flame retardants
• Arsenic, used in semi-conductors
• Barite, used in hydrocarbon production.
• Beryllium, used as an alloying agent in aerospace and defense industries
• Bismuth, used in medical and atomic research
• Cerium, used in catalytic converters, ceramics, glass, metallurgy, and polishing compounds
• Cesium, used in research and development
• Chromium, used primarily in stainless steel and other alloys
• Cobalt, used in rechargeable batteries and superalloys
• Dysprosium, used in permanent magnets, data storage devices, and lasers
• Erbium, used in fiber optics, optical amplifiers, lasers, and glass colorants
• Europium, used in phosphors and nuclear control rods
• Fluorspar, used in the manufacture of aluminum, cement, steel, gasoline, and fluorine chemicals
• Gadolinium, used in medical imaging, permanent magnets, and steelmaking
• Gallium, used for integrated circuits and optical devices like LEDs
• Germanium, used for fiber optics and night vision applications
• Graphite , used for lubricants, batteries, and fuel cells
• Hafnium, used for nuclear control rods, alloys, and high-temperature ceramics
• Holmium, used in permanent magnets, nuclear control rods, and lasers
• Indium, used in liquid crystal display screens
• Iridium, used as coating of anodes for electrochemical processes and as a chemical catalyst
• Lanthanum, used to produce catalysts, ceramics, glass, polishing compounds, metallurgy, and batteries
• Lithium, used for rechargeable batteries
• Lutetium, used in scintillators for medical imaging, electronics, and some cancer therapies
• Magnesium, used as an alloy and for reducing metals
• Manganese, used in steelmaking and batteries
• Neodymium, used in permanent magnets, rubber catalysts, and in medical and industrial lasers
• Nickel, used to make stainless steel, superalloys, and rechargeable batteries
• Niobium, used mostly in steel and superalloys
• Palladium, used in catalytic converters and as a catalyst agent
• Platinum, used in catalytic converters
• Praseodymium, used in permanent magnets, batteries, aerospace alloys, ceramics, and colorants
• Rhodium, used in catalytic converters, electrical components, and as a catalyst
• Rubidium, used for research and development in electronics
• Ruthenium, used as catalysts, as well as electrical contacts and chip resistors in computers
• Samarium, used in permanent magnets, as an absorber in nuclear reactors, and in cancer treatments
• Scandium, used for alloys, ceramics, and fuel cells
• Tantalum, used in electronic components, mostly capacitors and in superalloys
• Tellurium, used in solar cells, thermoelectric devices, and as alloying additive
• Terbium, used in permanent magnets, fiber optics, lasers, and solid-state devices
• Thulium, used in various metal alloys and in lasers
• Tin, used as protective coatings and alloys for steel
• Titanium, used as a white pigment or metal alloys
• Tungsten, primarily used to make wear-resistant metals
• Vanadium, primarily used as alloying agent for iron and steel
• Ytterbium, used for catalysts, scintillometers, lasers, and metallurgy
• Yttrium, used for ceramic, catalysts, lasers, metallurgy, and phosphors
• Zinc, primarily used in metallurgy to produce galvanized steel
• Zirconium, used in the high-temperature ceramics and corrosion-resistant alloys.

The new list has added uranium, copper, silver, metallurgical coal, potash, silicon, and lead.

The “national security” angle has become more more “critical” when defining executive powers. That power is being tested in the courts with yesterday’s Supreme Court arguments presented by the Trump administration in hopes to keep the executive power on tariffs, using national security as the argument.

Needless to say extending the list is a benefit to the presidents defense. If China withholds critical materials – or now copper, or lead, does that give the Pres. powers to retaliate with tariffs.

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.

Gold (XAU/USD) edges lower on Thursday, after briefly reclaiming the key $4,000 psychological mark amid a weaker US Dollar (USD). At the time of writing, XAU/USD is trading around $3,985, easing from an intraday high of $4,019 as bullish momentum stalls.

United States EIA Natural Gas Storage Change below expectations (34B) in October 31: Actual (33B)

S&P 500 bounced as called yesterday, and brought almost 70 ES pts gained to Trading / Stock Signals clients.