Commodities fluctuate as US shutdown endures . . . . . . Gold edged up in German trading Monday as the near-two-week long U.S. government shutdown raised fears Congress may struggle to raise the debt ceiling in time, burnishing bullion’s safe-haven appeal. Failure to raise the U.S. borrowing limit by Oct. 17 will push the world’s biggest economy into an unprecedented debt default. Congress is already divided on a spending bill, resulting in a partial government shutdown that is hurting the economy and delaying key data releases. The threat of a sustained U.S. government shutdown is unnerving market participants, leading some of them to dump risky assets such as oil. On Saturday, the House voted 407-0 to provide back pay to all furloughed federal workers once the shutdown ends, but neither party showed signs of relenting its position to end the shutdown. During the last debate over the U.S. debt ceiling in 2011, gold hit an all-time high of $1,920 an ounce. An agreement was reached by Congress only at the last minute. With no key U.S. data coming in, traders are now eyeing any pick up in physical demand, especially from China which has been closed for a week for the National Day holiday. Some dealers said they expected Chinese demand to be good at the current price levels, and a lot stronger if prices fell below $1,300. In top buyer India, importers were ready to process orders from Monday after the customs department cleared more than a tonne of gold stuck at airports. Spot Gold last traded at $1317.51 per ounce, up from $1310.61 an ounce late Friday. Platinum added to gains after a one per cent increase on Friday, as mine strikes and curbs threatened to hurt supply. Spot platinum was last at $1387.15 per ounce. Crude oil Crude prices traded 1% lower Monday after Tropical Storm Karen faded in the weekend, in addition to the prolonged U.S. government shutdown. Futures slid as much as 1.3 percent after companies including Chevron Corp., BP Plc and BHP Billiton Ltd. returned staff to platforms as Karen was downgraded to a depression and passed offshore assets. Crude oil futures for November delivery last traded at $102.91 per barrel, down from $103.62 late Friday. Brent crude also fell to $108.60 a barrel from $109.27 late Friday, after having earlier hit a low of $107.91 per barrel. Tropical Storm Karen, which had looked set to land on the fringe of the U.S. Gulf Coast refining region, passed without any serious supply disruptions. Companies operating in the region are gradually restarting operations. Almost 62 percent of Gulf crude output was shut as the storm approached. The remnants of Karen were located over southeastern Alabama, extending southward over the waters of the north-central Gulf, the National Hurricane Center said in a bulletin at 8 p.m. ET. The disturbance was moving eastward at about 15 miles (24 kilometers) per hour with almost no chance of reforming into a storm, the center said. #egyptyard
Posted on: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 13:07:13 +0000
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