Market pulse for bulllion and energy: Mangal Keshav

Gold futures fell sharply to close at their lowest level in nearly 4-weeks, as strength in the dollar and a rally in US equities lured investors away from the precious metal.

Gold holdings of SPDR gold trust, the largest ETF backed by the precious metal, declined to 1,208.92 tons, as on April 2.

Silver holdings of ishares silver trust, the largest ETF backed by the metal, declined to 10,703.59 tons, as on April 1.

The US dollar edged higher versus major rivals, as the foreign-exchange market positioned itself for the first Bank of Japan policy meeting under Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.

The dollar index, which measures the currency’s performance against a basket of six major rivals, rose slightly to 82.931 compared with a level of 82.744 in North American trade on late Monday.

Japanese yen skyrocketed to a 1-month high against the US dollar, after milder-than-expected manufacturing data in the United States forced traders to sell the dollar.

Copper futures fell for the third straight session, as record unemployment in Europe added to concerns that demand will weaken, amid signs of slowing growth in China and rising stockpiles of the metal. Copper futures for May delivery closed down by 0.8% at $3.3745 on the COMEX division of the NYMEX.

Crude oil closed slightly higher, tracking rising global equity markets after positive factory data out of the US. However, major gains were limited with a slew of disappointing economic data from Europe.

Crude oil supplies were up 4.7mn barrels, gasoline inventories dropped by 5mn barrels & distillate stockpiles fell by 1.85mn barrels, a per API report. Expected EIA inventories: Crude oil +1.5mn barrels, gasoline -0.5mn barrels & distillate - 1.1mn barrels.

Natural gas futures declined on NYMEX, as forecasts showed that chilly weather in the eastern US this week will give way to rising Gold futures fell sharply to close at their lowest level in nearly 4-weeks, as strength in the dollar and a rally in US equities lured investors away from the precious metal.

Gold holdings of SPDR gold trust, the largest ETF backed by the precious metal, declined to 1,208.92 tons, as on April 2.
Silver holdings of ishares silver trust, the largest ETF backed by the metal, declined to 10,703.59 tons, as on April 1.

The US dollar edged higher versus major rivals, as the foreign-exchange market positioned itself for the first Bank of Japan policy meeting under Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.

The dollar index, which measures the currency’s performance against a basket of six major rivals, rose slightly to 82.931 compared with a level of 82.744 in North American trade on late Monday.

Japanese yen skyrocketed to a 1-month high against the US dollar, after milder-than-expected manufacturing data in the United States forced traders to sell the dollar.

Copper futures fell for the third straight session, as record unemployment in Europe added to concerns that demand will weaken, amid signs of slowing growth in China and rising stockpiles of the metal.

Copper futures for May delivery closed down by 0.8% at $3.3745 on the COMEX division of the NYMEX.

Crude oil closed slightly higher, tracking rising global equity markets after positive factory data out of the US. However, major gains were limited with a slew of disappointing economic data from Europe.

Crude oil supplies were up 4.7mn barrels, gasoline inventories dropped by 5mn barrels & distillate stockpiles fell by 1.85mn barrels, a per API report.

Expected EIA inventories: Crude oil +1.5mn barrels, gasoline -0.5mn barrels & distillate - 1.1mn barrels.

Natural gas futures declined on NYMEX, as forecasts showed that chilly weather in the eastern US this week will give way to rising temperatures & higher heating demand.