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WEEKLY FORECAST FOR METALS AND CRUDE OIL


18THJAN2010
GOLD WEEKLY FOCUS:

Gold edged higher to 1163 last week but lost momentum ahead of 61.8% retracement of 1227.5 to 1075.2 and turned sideways. With 1119.2 support intact, another rise could still be seen and above 1163 will bring stronger rebound into 1169.3/1227.5 resistance zone. However, upside should be limited there and bring another fall to continue to consolidation pattern from 1227.5. On the downside, below 1119.2 will suggest that recovery from 1075.2 has completed already and will flip intraday bias back to the downside for 1075.2 and below.

In the bigger picture, rise from 681 is expected to develop into a set of five wave sequence with first wave completed at 1007.7, second wave triangle consolidation completed at 931.3. Rise from 931.3 is treated as the third wave and has possibly completed at 1227.5 after missing 100% projection of 681 to 1007.7 from 931.3 at 1258. Considering that weekly MACD is staying below signal line, consolidation from 1227.5 is expected to extend further, either in form of sideway consolidation or a deeper pull back to 1026.9/1072 support zone, or even further to retest 1000 psychological level. But after all, downside should be contained well above 931.3 support and bring up trend resumption to another high above 1227.5.

In the long term picture, rise from 681 is treated as resumption of the long term up trend from 1999 low of 253 after interim consolidation from 1033.9 has completed in form of an expanding triangle. Next long term target is 100% projection of 253 to 1033.9 from 681 at 1460 level. We'll hold on to the bullish view as long as 931.3 structural support holds.

SILVER WEEKLY FOCUS:

Silver climbed further to 18.925 last week but turned sideways since then. Consolidation from there might extend further initially this week. But still, with 18.055 support intact, rise from 16.675 is still expected to continue. Break of 18.925 will bring rally resumption towards 19.05 high next. On the downside, though, break of 18.055 support will indicate that rise from 16.765 has possibly completed and will flip intraday bias back to the downside for retesting this support first.

In the bigger picture, medium term rise from 12.435 could still be in progress and another high above 19.50 cannot be ruled out. However, note that whole medium term rise from 8.4 is is treated as part of the long term, wide range, consolidation pattern that started at 21.44 back in Mar 08. Hence, even in case of another rise, upside is expected to be limited inside 19.55/21.44 resistance zone and bring another medium term fall. So, we'll continue to look for reversal signal on next rise. On the downside, break of 16.765 support will revive the case that silver has topped out in medium term and will bring deeper decline towards lower medium term trend line at 14 level.

In the longer term picture, the up trend from 01 low of 4.01 topped out at 21.44 and subsequent price actions are treated as correction/consolidation to this up trend. Fall from 21.44 completed after drawing support form 8.5 key level. However, subsequent rally from 8.4 is not displaying a clear impulsive structure and hence, we'd prefer the case that it's just the second wave of the wide range consolidation pattern. Another medium term fall should still be seen for retesting 8.5 before completing the consolidation. Nevertheless, strong support is still expected at 5.45/8.5 support zone to conclude the consolidation.

CRUDE OIL WEEKLY FOCUS:

Crude oil reversed after edging higher to 83.95 and fell sharply to close at 78.00 last week. The development indicates that a short term top is formed with bearish divergence condition in 4 hours MACD. Initial bias remains on the downside this week and deeper fall could be seen towards 61.8% retracement of 68.59 to 83.95 at 74.46. but downside should be contained there and bring rally resumption. Above 80.69 minor resistance will flip intraday bias back to the upside for retesting 83.95 resistance first. Further break of 83.95 high will target upper trend line resistance at 87/88 level again. However, note that sustained trading below 74.46 fibo support will argue that rise from 68.59 has completed and will turn focus back to this key support level.

In the bigger picture, whole medium term rise from 33.2 is still in progress but after all, there is no change in the view that it's merely a correction to fall from 147.27. Therefore, we'd continue to look for reversal signal in case of another rise and as crude oil approaches 50% retracement of 147.27 to 33.2 at 90.24, which is close to 90 psychological level. On the downside, however, considering continuous bearish divergence condition in daily MACD, a break of 68.59 support will confirm that a medium term top is in place and will turn outlook bearish for a retest on 33.2 low as correction from 147.27 resumes.

In the long term picture, there is no change in the view that fall from 147.27 is part of the correction to the five wave sequence from 98 low of 10.65. While the rebound from 33.2 is strong and might continue, there is no solid evidence that suggest fall 147.27 is completed and we're still preferring the case that rebound from 33.2 is merely a corrective rise only. Having said that, strong resistance should be seen between 76.77/90.24 fibo resistance zone and bring reversal for another low below 33.2 before completing the whole correction from 147.27.


DISCLAIMER: Daily Market Commentary is provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in these reports is gathered from reputable news sources and is not intended to be used as investment advice. we assumes no responsibility or liability from gains or losses incurred by the information herein contained.
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GOLD AND OIL FOCUS


Weekly Fundamental Outlook for metals and crude:18THJAN/2010

Acceleration in China's tightening and fiscal problem in Greece caught the market's focus last week. While the former indicates slowdown in the pace commodity demand growth, the latter unveiled the risk of defaults in sovereign loans. Investors suspected recent rallies in commodities were excessive and therefore corrections were seen. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Commodity Index slid -3.2% to 281.4.

Crude Oil:

Crude oil price ended last week with 5 straight days' of drops. The February contract slid -5.7% to close at 78 for the week. Selling pressures were heavy amid concerns on abundant inventory, slowdown in growth momentum in China as well as strength in USD.

Early last week, China released preliminary imports data for December. The readings were strong in most commodities. According the Customs, crude oil imports surged +24% to 21.26M metric tons during the month. On annual basis, the nation imported 203.8M metric tons in 2009, compared with 178.9M metric tons a year ago. The market was thrilled by the news and WTI crude oil price rallied to as high as 83.95, the highest level since October 13, 2008. In fact, emerging market, especially China, has been viewed as the demand growth driver for commodities. Anticipation for robust Chinese consumption has contributed for the 78% rally in crude price in 2009.

A Chinese proverb says 'while water can float a boat, it can also overturn a boat'. In order to stimulate investment and spending, the Chinese government implemented a RMB 4 trillion stimulus program, including government subsidies and tax breaks for home appliances and cars, last year. This has helped restored strong economic expansion in the world's third-largest economy. However, the record amounts of lending has also increased risks of asset bubbles and over-heating in the economy. Therefore, the government began cooling since January 2010.

After guiding open market interest rates higher, the People's Bank of China raised, for the first time since 2008, the reserve requirement ratio- the proportion of deposits that banks must set aside- by 50 bps last Tuesday. Currently the reserve ratios for small banks and large banks are 13.5% and 15.5% respectively. The lift indicated a further step to unwind the accommodative policies it implemented last year.

China's move depressed commodity investors and energy prices got hammered. As China tightens, a large number of investment and infrastructural projects will be delayed or cancelled. This, in turns, will slow down demand for commodities such as energies and industrial metals. Investors' worries were intensified as demand in OECD economies remained dismal.

On Wednesday, the US Energy Department reported surprising increase in crude and oil product inventories. Crude oil stockpile in the US, the world's largest oil consumer, rose +3.7 mmb to 331 mmb. Increase in capacity utilization caused both gasoline and distillate inventories to rise, by +3.79 mmb and +1.35 mmb, respectively. The set of data indicated demand weakness for petroleum. While global oil demand is expected to improve this year as economic recovery accelerates, current consumption in the US remains sluggish. Crude oil price should continue trading below 80 in coming weeks. In the longer-term, should oil wish to break above recent trading range, significant improvement in OECD demand is a pre-requisite.

Natural Gas
Gas price slid -1% to 5.691 last week. The US Energy Department reported storage declined -266 bcf to 2852 bcf in the week ended January 8. Inventory on January 1 was revised down from 3118 bcf from 3123 bcf. Although extremely cold weather in December increased demand and tighten the market, the impact is short-lived. Meteorologist forecast milder climate in the Northern hemisphere in coming weeks. Moreover, significant rise in US LNG imports suggests supply should remain ample in coming months.

Total natural gas consumption probably dropped -1.5% to 62.45bcf/day in 2009. According to EIA, higher natural gas price this year should reduce consumption in the electric power sector by -2.8% but the decline will be offset by modest growth in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. On net, the demand should be remain unchanged in 2010.

The number of rigs increased 30 units to 811, the highest in 10 months, in the week ended January 15. Rig counts have been rising sharply after hitting a bottom of 665 units in July 2009. However, it remains -34% lower than the peak of 1600 units in September 2008.

In 2009, the number of rigs plummeted -44% on annual basis. However, production was not at all impacted. Total marketed natural gas production increased +3.7% last year. The US Energy Department said that it was due to the lagging effect of reduced drilling activity and expected production to drop-3% in 2010 before rising +1.3% again next year.

Precious Metals
Gold plunged -1.1% Friday as USD rebounded strongly against major currencies. The dollar index gained +0.8% Friday after dropping for 5 days. On weekly basis, the yellow metal, losing -0.7%, traded sideways within a range of 1120 and 1160, probably because the dollar also lacked direction.

Gold futures gained +24% in 2009. However, USD index plummeted -4% during the period. Apart from weakness in USD, gold's rally was driven by a series of other factors including robust investment demand in ETFs, official buying and reduction in central bank sales.

In 2010, performance of gold may continue to underperform that of silver and PGMs as gold is less leveraged to global economic recovery than these metals.

We believe platinum and palladium will shine this year and there are several factors leading to the outperformance.

According to Johnson Matthey (JM), global platinum demand from automotive industry probably fell -33% to 2480K oz, the lowest global figure for demand since 2000, in 2009.The sharp decline was due to collapse in the auto market in late-2008. Global light duty vehicle production is expected to have droop -16.1% to 57.2M units last year. However, as economic outlook improves, auto sector should recover in a rapid rate and drive up demand for platinum.

Another issue is investment demand which should strengthen further in 2010 and 2011. The recently approved platinum ETF in the US is positive will have huge impact on the market as it can lead to several hundred thousand oz of additional investment.

On the supply side, production may rise further in 2010 but there're lots of uncertainties as power outage, labor strike and downgrades of mines in South Africa increase the risk to the downside.

DISCLAIMER: Daily Market Commentary is provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in these reports is gathered from reputable news sources and is not intended to be used as investment advice. we assumes no responsibility or liability from gains or losses incurred by the information herein contained.
Continue reading...
DISCLAIMER: Daily Market Commentary is provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in these reports is gathered from reputable news sources and is not intended to be used as investment advice. we assumes no responsibility or liability from gains or losses incurred by the information herein contained.