Tin Gains Seen by Indonesia as Largest Shipper Takes Aim at LME

Indonesia is seeking higher tin prices as the largest exporter presses on with a policy that metal be traded on a local exchange before shipment, affirming a shift that roiled the market when it began three months ago.

The policy, which started on Aug. 30, is on the right track, according to Sutriono Edi, head of the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency. The government doesn’t envisage changing the rule as volumes on the Indonesian Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, or ICDX, are rising, said Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan, who’s targeting higher prices.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy wants to challenge the London Metal Exchange as the site for setting the benchmark rate for the metal used in smartphones and packaging, as well as boost prices. The curb reduced supplies to the global market, exacerbating a deficit, and pushed futures to a six-month high. This year’s best performing base metal was listed by Morgan Stanley’s Peter Richardson this month as a top pick for 2014.

“I’m pleased but not fully satisfied yet, if possible the price should increase further,” Wirjawan said on Nov. 25 in Jakarta, without giving a specific target. “That’s the value crystallization that we want,” he said.

Tin rose on the LME in July and August, before the rule took effect, and then jumped 9.8 percent in October, the biggest monthly advance since September 2012. The price, which reached $24,000 a metric ton on Oct. 4, traded at $22,915 at 1:34 p.m. in Jakarta yesterday. Stockpiles tracked by LME fell to 10,795 tons yesterday, the smallest since March 2012 and 30 percent below the level on Aug. 30.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Dollar Holds Slide as Taper Bets Pared Before Jobs, Orders Data

The dollar remained lower versus the yen and euro before U.S. data today that may signal a mixed recovery in the world’s biggest economy, damping prospects the Federal Reserve will start reducing stimulus this year.

The greenback held losses against most major counterparts ahead of figures that may show jobless claims increased and durable goods orders fell, while U.S. consumer sentiment improved. The euro remained higher amid speculation a report this week will show a pick up in inflation, reducing the need for the European Central Bank to expand monetary easing.

The dollar was unchanged at 101.28 yen as of 8:26 a.m. in Tokyo after falling 0.4 percent yesterday, its first drop in four days. It traded at $1.3567 per euro after sliding 0.4 percent to $1.3572 in New York. Europe’s shared currency bought 137.40 yen from 137.46 yesterday.

The Labor Department will probably say today jobless claims climbed to 330,000 in the week through Nov. 23, and the Commerce Department may announce that bookings for goods meant to last at least three years fell 2 percent in October, according to Bloomberg News surveys.

A final reading of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index due today may show the gauge was at 73.1 this month, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. That compares with an initial figure of 72 and an October level of 73.2.

Fed policy makers will pare the monthly pace of bond buying, which tends to debase the U.S. currency to $70 billion at their March 18-19 meeting from the current pace of $85 billion, according to the median of 32 economist estimates in a Bloomberg poll this month.

(Source: Bloomberg)

WTI Rebounds After Biggest Drop in Week as Supplies Seen Falling

West Texas Intermediate rebounded after the biggest drop in a week amid speculation that crude supplies shrank for the first time in more than two months in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer.

Futures advanced as much as 0.3 percent in New York after slipping 0.8 percent yesterday. U.S. crude stockpiles fell 300,000 barrels in the week ended Nov. 22, the first drop in 10 weeks, according to a Bloomberg News survey before an Energy Information Administration report tomorrow. WTI and Brent in London slid yesterday after Iran and world powers reached an interim agreement on the Islamic republic’s nuclear program.

WTI for January delivery gained as much as 25 cents to $94.34 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $94.33 at 10:40 a.m. Sydney time. The contract declined 75 cents to $94.09 yesterday, the lowest close since Nov. 20. The volume of all futures traded was about 74 percent below the 100-day average.

Brent for January settlement fell 5 cents to $111 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday. The European benchmark crude ended the session at a premium of $16.91 to WTI futures, the widest gap in eight months.

U.S. gasoline supplies probably climbed 1 million barrels last week, according to the median estimate of seven analysts in the Bloomberg survey. Distillate inventories, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, fell 1.03 million.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Hedge Fund Gold Bets Less Bullish as Paulson Holds: Commodities

Hedge funds got less bullish on gold, cutting their net-long position to a four-month low, before prices capped the biggest weekly retreat since September.

Net holdings in futures and options tumbled 20 percent to 44,291 contracts in the week ended Nov. 19, the lowest since July 9, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Short bets rose 16 percent to the highest since Aug. 6 and long wagers slid 2.5 percent. Net-bullish wagers across 18 U.S.- traded commodities fell 12 percent as investors became the most bearish on copper since July and cut their silver holdings by the most in five months.

Gold fell 6.1 percent this month, heading for the worst slide since June, when the metal reached a 34-month low. The Federal Reserve signaled Nov. 20 that it may ease stimulus in coming months. Billionaire John Paulson told clients the same day he personally won’t invest more money into his gold fund because it’s not clear when inflation will quicken. The U.S. cost of living declined in October for the first time since April, while wholesale prices fell for a second month.

(Source: Bloomberg)

WTI Oil Trades Near Three-Week High as Jobless Claims Decline

 West Texas Intermediate crude traded near the highest level in three weeks after applications for unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest in almost two months in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer.

Futures were little changed in New York, heading for the first advance in seven weeks. Jobless claims fell by 21,000 to 323,000 last week, the fewest since Sept. 28, according to data from the Labor Department. The median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected 335,000. Negotiators for Iran and world powers weren’t able to reach an agreement on a first-step accord to resolve a decade-old dispute over the Persian Gulf nation’s nuclear program.

WTI for January delivery was at $95.21 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 23 cents at 11:36 a.m. Sydney time. The contract rose $1.59, or 1.7 percent, to $95.44 yesterday. That’s the highest close for a front-month contract since Oct. 31. The volume of all futures traded was about 83 percent below the 100-day average. Prices are up 1.5 percent this week.

Brent for January settlement climbed $2.02, or 1.9 percent, to $110.08 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday. The European benchmark crude ended the session at a premium of $14.64 to WTI.

Talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Catherine Ashton, the European Union foreign policy chief, broke up yesterday after more than six hours of consultations, the EU said in a statement.

(Source: Bloomberg)