TOCOM Gold
Prices of TOCOM gold futures took it on the chin last week along with most other commodity and equity markets. The most actively traded forward contract dropped by 218 yen for the week and closed Friday’s day trading session at 4069 per gram. The weekly low was 4050 yen which was reached during Thursday’s trading. The 218 yen drop was equal to about a 5.1% downward move. Gold has recently been trading as a normal risk asset and has seemed to lose some of the safe haven status that it had enjoyed with some investors in recent years. Fresh worries about sovereign debt levels and economic stagnation in Europe helped to send most equity and commodity markets downward last week. Election results in both Greece and France brought fresh worries to markets about the ability of Europe to solve its debt woes. Further pressuring gold markets is the sentiment held by some traders that further monetary easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve will not happen due to recent announcements of increasing economic activity in the U.S. The spot price in U.S. dollars fell by around $60 an ounce last week which was less than the fall in Tokyo due to a stronger yen versus the U.S. dollar last week. This put further pressure on all commodities priced in yen. The recent sell-off has led some analysts to warn that some technical damage has been done to gold charts and that prices could fall further if current price levels don’t start to attract new buyers. There were reports last week that physical buying in India is still fairly soft due to a strong rupee and recent changes to import duties of gold. TOCOM gold futures open interest rose by about 10,000 contracts last week and trading volume was low to moderate.
TOCOM Gold Daily Chart – Forward Contract (as of May 11)
TOCOM Gold Forward Contract Weekly Trading Data
|
Date |
Open |
High |
Low |
Close |
Change |
Volume |
Open Interest |
|
May 11 |
4097 |
4126 |
4066 |
4069 |
-28 |
41573 |
148540 |
|
May 10 |
4095 |
4099 |
4050 |
4097 |
-2 |
64326 |
144836 |
|
May 9 |
4199 |
4200 |
4080 |
4099 |
-111 |
83418 |
140307 |
|
May 8 |
4216 |
4228 |
4203 |
4210 |
-4 |
34664 |
140419 |
|
May 7 |
4283 |
4287 |
4204 |
4214 |
-73 |
48494 |
138120 |
TOCOM Platinum
Prices of TOCOM platinum futures fared slightly worse than gold futures last week as the most actively traded forward contract fell by about 6.4% or 259 yen and closed the day trading session on Friday at 3814 yen per gram. The low for the week was reached during Friday’s trading at 3802 yen per gram for the forward contract and this level was last seen in January of this year. Industrial and base metals were clobbered as well last week due to renewed concerns on European debt problems and the possibility of further economic slowing in Europe. Since platinum is used as both an industrial metal and a precious metal, prices fell more than gold prices. Diesel engines which are popular in Europe use predominantly platinum in their exhaust systems whereas gasoline engines use more palladium so any worries of economic slowing in Europe will usually pressure platinum prices. Some analysts point to the rising costs of platinum production in South Africa as a support for global platinum prices. However, global supply of platinum is expected to continue to be greater than demand in 2012 as it has been in recent years. Light vehicle sales in the U.S. reportedly rose by around 2% in April which was slightly above expectations but sales remain sluggish in both Japan and Europe. TOCOM platinum future’s trading volume was moderate and open interest was little changed.
TOCOM Platinum Daily Chart – Forward Contract (as of May 11)
TOCOM Platinum Forward Contract Weekly Trading Data
|
Date |
Open |
High |
Low |
Close |
Change |
Volume |
Open Interest |
|
May 11 |
3888 |
3891 |
3802 |
3814 |
-78 |
16180 |
44207 |
|
May 10 |
3888 |
3896 |
3837 |
3892 |
8 |
10819 |
42758 |
|
May 9 |
3944 |
3949 |
3872 |
3884 |
-70 |
14661 |
43395 |
|
May 8 |
3931 |
3973 |
3926 |
3954 |
27 |
12408 |
43373 |
|
May 7 |
4063 |
4076 |
3899 |
3927 |
-146 |
16112 |
44518 |
TOCOM Rubber
TOCOM rubber futures got shellacked the worst last week as the benchmark forward contract lost just over 10% of its value last week as the contract price plunged by 31.8 yen. The forward contract closed the week at 283.8 yen per kilo after getting as low as 283.1 yen during Friday’s trading. Besides following other commodity and equity markets lower on the back of concerns about Europe and the possibility that China’s economic growth will continue to slow, rubber prices fell on reports that inventory levels of natural rubber in Japan hit nearly 5 year highs. This news coupled with lower oil prices got the week off to a poor start for TOCOM rubber futures as the price of the forward contract fell by more than 10 yen on Monday and continued its downward trend for most of the remainder of the week. Adding to rubber market price woes, the wintering or dry season is finishing up in Thailand and rubber production of rubber trees is expected to pick-up from now as the tapping of rubber trees increases. The Thai government previously announced plans to intervene in local rubber markets to support prices with a reported 15 billion baht (about $475 million) budget and there were reports that some buying has started last week. Trading volume was moderate last week and open interest increased by about 3,000 contracts and stood at 31,395 contracts as of last Friday.
TOCOM Rubber Daily Chart – Forward Contract (as of May 11)
TOCOM Rubber Forward Contract Weekly Trading Data
|
Date |
Open |
High |
Low |
Close |
Change |
Volume |
Open Interest |
|
May 11 |
294.1 |
294.7 |
283.1 |
283.8 |
-10.2 |
7366 |
31395 |
|
May 10 |
291.5 |
295.4 |
290.3 |
294.0 |
0.9 |
6026 |
30827 |
|
May 9 |
302.0 |
302.2 |
289.5 |
293.1 |
-11.4 |
12684 |
30118 |
|
May 8 |
305.0 |
305.5 |
299.9 |
304.5 |
-0.3 |
6374 |
28795 |
|
May 7 |
315.2 |
316.0 |
304.0 |
304.8 |
-10.8 |
8325 |
28551 |
Exchange and Industry News
Summary of April 2012 Activities at TOCOM
Click on the link below for details including trading volume for April 2012.
http://www.tocom.or.jp/data/geppou/gaikyo201204_e.pdf
TGE April 2012 Trading Report
Click on the link below for details on trading volume for April 2012.
https://www.tge.or.jp/english/whats/news/pdf/gyoumu/E20120501.report.pdf
Disclaimer:
This market review and news report contains information and data from sources believed to be reliable and accurate as of the date of publication but has not been independently verified. This report is for informational purposes only and no employee, director or connected person to Dot Commodity, Inc. takes any responsibility for the information or correctness of the content contained in the report. Dot Commodity, Inc. is strictly an online commodity futures broker and does not give any trading recommendations or financial advice to any of its clients, perspective clients or readers of this report. No part of this market review & news report is to be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any commodity futures or financial contract or product of any kind.
