Weekly Market Recap – September 17, 2021
The annual data released Tuesday by the U.S Census Bureau underscored the economic impact of the pandemic last year. The median inflation-adjusted household income for 2020 fell 2.9% to $67,521, according to the bureau. The official poverty rate rose one percentage point to 11.4%, however, the report included a supplemental poverty rate that was lower (9.1%) because it factored in the federal relief enacted by Congress. According to the CDC’s data tracker, new COVID cases in the U.S. have risen to an average of 146,182 per day, and daily deaths now average 1,448.
Monthly economic statistics, compared with previous levels, were as follows: the federal budget balance was a $171 billion deficit vs. -$200 billion, the consumer price index +0.3% vs. +0.5%, industrial production 0.4% vs. 0.8%, capacity utilization 76.4% vs. 76.2%, business inventories 0.5% vs. 0.9%, and retail sales 1.8% vs. -1.0%. Weekly initial jobless claims rose to 332,000 vs. the prior week’s 312,000.
Stock indices eased slightly. The DJIA ended the week at 34,584.88 (-0.1%), the S&P 500 finished at 4,432.99 (-0.6%), and the NASDAQ Composite closed at 15,043.97 (-0.5%). CBOE’s VIX settled at 20.81 (-0.7%), and the U.S Dollar Index inched up 0.6%, ending at 93.24 on Friday. The commodities in the S&P GSCI futures portfolio crept higher to close the index at 538.85 (+1.4%).
Precious and base metals declined. Their closing prices and percentage losses were as follows: gold at $1,751.40 (-2.3%), silver at $22.337 (-6.5%), platinum at $930.60 (-2.7%), palladium at $1,983.80 (-6.7%), copper at $4.2460 (-4.6%) and aluminum at $2,885.50 (-1.3%). The December palladium settlement was at its lowest, year-to-date.
On the energy futures charts, the uptrend returned in the petroleum sector. For the week, NYMEX WTI advanced to $71.97 per barrel, up 3.2%. ICE Brent increased to 75.34 (+3.3%). U.S. refined products also rose: heating oil gained 2.9%, closing the week at $2.2091, and RBOB gasoline added 0.8% to $2.1713 per gallon. Natural gas made another new high for the year, going out at $5.105 per mmBtu (+3.4%).
the nine agricultural futures we monitor were mixed In terms of directional movement, four decreased and five increased. The contracts that lost value were: soybeans at $12.84 (-0.2%), coffee at $1.8640 (-0.9%), cotton at 92.33¢ (-1.3%), and live cattle at 122.800 (-0.5%). The gainers were: corn at $5.27¼ (+1.9%), wheat at $7.08¾ (+2.9%), sugar at 19.18¢ (+2.1%), cocoa at $2,665 (+2.4%), and lean hogs at 85.725 (+4.0%)
Futures Referenced in Market Recap
Exchange | Commodity | Contract Month |
---|---|---|
CME | Live Cattle | October |
CME | Lean Hogs | October |
CBT | Soybeans | November |
CBT | Corn | December |
CBT | Wheat | December |
ICE | Coffee | December |
ICE | Cocoa | December |
ICE | Sugar | October |
ICE | Cotton | December |
ICE | Brent Crude | November |
NYMEX | WTI Crude | October |
NYMEX | ULSD (Heating Oil) | October |
NYMEX | RBOB (Gasoline) | October |
NYMEX | Natural Gas | October |
NYMEX | Platinum | October |
NYMEX | Palladium | December |
COMEX | Gold | December |
COMEX | Silver | December |
COMEX | Copper | December |
LME | Aluminum | 3 Mo. Forward |
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