The U.S. Labor Department said that jobless claims were up 27,000 last week to 542,000, the most in 16 years. The December U.S. dollar index closed up .73 at a new contract high of 88.295 as the world continued its flight to dollars.
The March U.S. T-bonds jumped up 3.47/64ths to a new contract high at 124.39/64ths as panicked investors paid up for safety and yield. Given the fact that the U.S. Treasury will have to borrow huge amounts of money and/or debase the currency in the years ahead, does locking your money in a 30-year bond at 4% really sound that attractive?
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's regional index of manufacturing dropped from -37.5 to -39.3 in November, weaker than expected. The September eurodollars closed up .115 at a new contract high of 98.115.
The Conference Board's index of leading indicators was down .8% in October. The December S&P 500 closed down 64.20 at 748.30, the lowest spot close in 11 years.
Grains and Cotton The USDA said that, as of last week, 2008-2009 exports of:
Corn slipped from down 36% to down 37% from a year ago.
Soybeans improved from up 3% to up 9% from a year ago.
Wheat remained down 14% from a year ago.
Cotton improved from down 7% to down 5% from a year ago.
Even though soybean exports are running higher than expected this year, March soybeans fell 41.5 cents to $8.627, the lowest close in a year, caught in the market's ongoing scramble for cash. March corn closed down 15.25 cents at $3.80, also the lowest close in over a year.
March cotton fell 1.87 cents to a new contract low of 39.91, weighed down by the gloomy outlook for world demand.
Livestock
Cattle and hogs both bucked the trend today. February cattle closed up 1.37 at 86.52 ahead of tomorrow afternoon's monthly on-feed report, helped by bargain hunters.
February lean hogs ended up 1.77 at 64.67, just barely the highest close in over a month with some wondering if pork demand is still doing well?
Coffee According to Dow Jones Newswires, the weather conditions have been favorable for Brazil's next coffee crop. March coffee closed down 2.70 cents at a new contract low of $1.1135.
Energies February crude oil fell $4.54 to a new contract low of $50.41 with ongoing selling pressure from the worsening outlook for demand and growing tendency of investors to cling to cash. Also, Goldman Sachs said that they were suspending their recommendations in the energy markets - a sign that the fundamental experts are spent.
The U.S. Department of Energy said that underground supplies of natural gas were up 16 billion cubic feet from last week's revised figures to 3.488 trillion cubic feet. Supplies are now down 1.4% from a year ago. February natural gas closed down 40.4 cents at $6.447.
The economy may be going to hell, but it sure feels good to watch the price of gasoline fall. December reformulated gasoline closed down a dime at a new contract low of $1.007 a gallon.
Metals The U.S. dollar remains strong, the stock market remains weak, and March silver finished down 28.9 cents at $9.049. February gold, however, closed up $12.90 at $749.40, the best close in two weeks.
Currencies
The U.K.'s Office for National Statistics said that retail sales were down .1% in October, better than expected.
Things don't sound as bad in Canada. Statistics Canada said that wholesale trade was actually up 1.5% in September to C$46.3 billion. They also said that corporate operating profits totaled C$77.3 billion in the third quarter, up 7.6% from the second quarter. The December Canadian dollar fell 2.27 cents to 77.82.
The Swiss National Bank surprised the markets today and cut its target rate for the three-month LIBOR from roughly 2.0% to roughly 1.0%.
