By Deepak Rangan
At the Multi-Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), precious metals and base metals posted gains while crude oil marginally declined for the week of Jan 23-Jan 27, 2012. Natural gas was the top gainer with an impressive 11.30% gain.
In Europe, EU policy-makers were still working with the bondholders of Greek debt to accept more haircuts. S&P joined Fitch ratings to state that even if bondholders do accept “voluntary haircuts”, it would still be seen as a default.
In US, Q4 2011 GDP came out less than forecasted, unemployment claims rose and new home sales declined. Durable goods orders remained positive.
Precious Metals
-Both gold and silver gained for the week with silver topping in at 2.69% gain. There were rumors of India agreeing to pay gold instead of dollars for Iran's oil, but proved false later on. In China,the whole week was a bank holiday.
Base Metals
-Base metals gained together with precious metals, something that happens not very often. Zinc gained the most at 4.40%. With US GDP growth disappointing investors, prices might be affected next week. Also, in China trading resumes for week after the bank holiday last week. Watch out for the final PMI figures.
Energies
-Crude oil posted marginal loss of 0.60%. fundamentals are still bullish after the EU decided to ban imports from July 1, 2012. However, prices may see a technical breakdown. Natural gas prices rebounded quite drastically, clocking in an impressive 11% plus gains. But outlook still remains weak due to the supply glut. US inventories are reportedly now more than 20% above their 5 year averages.
