Copper Closed Higher As Strike Looms

Copper closed higher as strike looms: September Copper closed near two-week highs, after workers at Chile's Escondida mine voted late on Friday to authorize a possible strike next week. Escondida is the world's largest Copper mine, and any production disruptions will be magnified, as world Copper supplies remain tight. This news caused a short- covering rally to commence this morning, as traders fear possible price spikes should the strike commence. Prices gapped higher at the opening, triggering light buy stops. Further speculative buying came in once September moved above 360.00. Read More....

FX Closing Comments

FX pairs were largely unchanged today, though the Dollar was under some pressure throughout the U.S. session. The September Dollar Index closed down 10 ticks. The British Pound was the biggest gainer on the day, as consensus continued to form around a potential rate hike later in the year. U.S. data is thin this week, as traders look forward to Friday's NFP (non-farm payroll). Overnight, European purchasing manager indexes are due, while a host of 2nd-tier data will be unveiled in the morning (construction spending, car sales).

EUR/USD: Nearing Resistance

Re-capping Friday's activity, the Dollar was down sharply, as the bulls felt their rate support slip further after the release of the 2 nd quarter GDP figure. The number was a less-than-expected 2.5%, which increased the likelihood of a Fed pause in August. The prospect of loosing rate support caused the Dollar to slip against the other majors. Looking ahead, the major number this week in the U.S. will be Friday's non-farm payroll report, which is expected to show a gain of 150,000 new jobs for July. Read More....

Are The S&P Futures Ready To Make Their Move?

Are the S&P futures ready to make their move? Since the middle of May, S&P futures have been a trend followers nightmare. Choppy action has been the norm, as both bulls and bears struggle to take control of the market. Much of the blame for the lack of trend can be contributed to the markets expectation for what the Federal Reserve has in store for interest rates and the outlook for inflation. Recently the expectations for a "pause" in the Fed's tightening campaign have increased, with Friday's disappointing 2nd quarter GDP figure helping to lower the odds of a rate increase to 30% according to the August Fed Funds contract. Normally, signs of a slowing economy would be bearish for stocks, as fears of slowing consumer and business spending would weigh on corporate profits. Read More....

Markets To Watch Today

Natural Gas: Last week's removal of 7 billion cubic feet of gas from storage gave Natural Gas prices a shot in the arm as they reached 5-week highs. This unprecedented draw has left both traders and analysts perplexed, as they wonder whether or not this is the start of a paradigm that may stay in this volatile Natural Gas market. Typically, Natural Gas is stockpiled during the summer and withdrawn during the winter months. The September Natural Gas contract closed Friday up 6.1 cents, at $7.184 MMBTu's.

Dollar: The Dollar is expected to continue its drop in price this week, as traders try to decide what the Fed is going to do on its next policy meeting August 8th. Analysts say that economic reports that come out this week may offer no help in support of the Dollar as well. The September Dollar closed Friday down 44, closing at 8519.

Signs Of An Economic Slowdown Send Bonds Higher:

Signs of an economic slowdown send Bonds higher: Treasury Bond futures ended the week on a high note, as a weaker than expected 2nd quarter GDP figure gave traders further validation that the Federal Reserve will "pause" at its August 8th meeting. The Commerce Department announced this morning that the U.S. economy expanded at a 2.5% annualized rate. Read More....

FX Closing Comments

The Dollar took it on the chin today, as the bulls felt their rate support slip further after the release of today's GDP data. The second-quarter number was reported at 2.5%, against expectations of 3%. The Fed funds market is now factoring only a 24% likelihood of an August rate hike. In terms of Middle East safe-haven buying, it is hard to notice any boost to either the Dollar or Swiss Franc, thus far in the conflict. In terms of Monday's data, we have the July Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index, which is expected to show a reading of 56.5. The previous reading was 56.5. There are also two Fed speakers, who will be speaking on US-Chinese trade (St. Louis' Pool) and the US economy (San Francisco's Yellen). Next week Friday will bring the major non-farm payroll figure, which is expected to show 155,000 new jobs for July.

Markets To Watch Today

Live Cattle: On news that Japan is easing their ban on beef from the U.S., Live Cattle prices dropped slightly yesterday. Analysts say that exports of beef to Japan should gradually increase. August Live Cattle contracts dropped .80 cents, closing at 83.47 cents a pound.

Natural Gas: The forecasts calls for continued hot weather from most of the nation through most of next week. Traders say this is driving Natural Gas prices. A report from the Energy Information Administration said that seven billion cubic feet of Natural Gas was taken from storage, which also sparked trading for traders in Natural Gas. The August Natural Gas contract closed up 15.5 cents at $7.042 per MMBTu's, after reaching a high of $7.25 per MMBTu's.

Dollar: The Dollar was down slightly, even with reports of new home sales slowing more than analysts expected. A greater than anticipated increase in durable goods orders seemed to balance out the day for the Dollar, as well. The September Dollar contract closed at 85.63, down only 3.

Soybeans Get No Respect

Soybeans get no respect: Soybean futures continue to struggle, with prices hitting one month lows yesterday. Abundant supplies are keeping prices in check and early production estimates look for another large U.S. crop, with many farmers switching acres to Soybeans from Corn due to high energy prices. Read More....

Volatile Day In the FX Markets Yesterday

FX markets were volatile yesterday, but ended the day largely unchanged. Oddly, both the Dollar and the Euro had rough days, implying a lot of indecision in the marketplace and calling to question the countering nature of the world's top two reserve currencies. Read More....

FX Closing Comments

The Dollar came under some pressure and sold-off in the afternoon, after the release of the Fed's beige book report. The influential report cited a widespread slowdown in the rate of economic growth, which indicated to traders that the Fed might pause on August 8th. The Fed Funds market was pricing in only 34% chance of another .25 rise at the end of the day. Many analysts were quick to note that the report validates much of what Fed Chairman Bernanke argued during his recent testimony to Congress. Looking ahead, tomorrow will bring the June durable goods report, which is expected to rise by 3% with the ex-transportation number expected at 1%. New homes sales are expected to slide to 1,180k annual for June.

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Have Oil Prices Found A Home?

Have Oil prices found a home? Energy traders are used to wild swings in Crude Oil futures, and that's why the recent consolidation has caught many traders by surprise. Prices are caught between 75.50 on the upside and 73.50 on the downside. News out of the Middle East has traders conflicted, as one day it looks like the situation in Lebanon will escalate and prices will go higher, then the following day rumors about a possible release of two kidnapped Israeli soldiers has traders bailing out of long positions. Read More....

The Dollar Has Sprung Back To Life

The Dollar came back to life yesterday, after a surprise jump in July consumer confidence. Both equities and the Dollar benefited late in the day, as a result of retreating Crude prices. The FX market chose to discount a slowing housing market, which fell as expected. Read More....

Markets To Watch Today

Corn: As the price of Crude Oil contracts rise so does the demand for fuel alternatives. Among those alternatives is Corn for use in the manufacturing of Ethanol. The open interest on Corn contracts traded is up 77% over last year as of Monday, and the price of corn is up 11% this year at $2.3950 a bushel. Ethanol futures are up 25% year-to-date at $2.608 a gallon.

Copper: Supply concerns over the top producing Copper mine in Chile pushed prices up yesterday. September Copper contracts were up 7.90 cents, closing at $3.4610 per pound, and July Copper prices rose 5.50 cents, closing at $3.5385

Crude Oil: Threats of oil supply shortages are easing, as well as concerns over the conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militia, causing prices in Crude Oil to drop. Yesterday's decline in prices is the largest in the last five trading sessions. The September contract closed down $1.30 at $73.75 a barrel.

Canola Rolling Along

Canola rolling along: Traders used to dealing with Corn, Wheat, and Soybeans might be missing out on the hot market of the summer--Canola! Lead-month November Canola hit its highest price of the year this morning, as hot weather continues to plague the Canola fields of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Read More....

FX Closing Comments

The Dollar came back to life today after a surprise jump in July consumer confidence, benefiting late in the day by retreating crude prices. Seems the market discounted falling housing prices and concentrated on the positives. Tomorrow has no additional U.S. data, though the influential IFO index for July is expected at 104.7. The U.S. durable goods report and new home sales figures are due on Thursday.

Beef Retreats: Tough Start This Week For Live Cattle

Beef in retreat: Live Cattle futures had a rough start to the week, posting steep losses on a surprisingly bearish USDA Cattle on Feed report. The report released on Friday showed Cattle placements in June at 110% of last year. This was a real surprise, as many traders and analysts were expecting a decrease from last year's figures. Read More....

USD VS. JPY

The Dollar was up yesterday against the other majors. The September Dollar Index was up 41 ticks on the day, largely as the result of a resurgent stock market. U.S. Equity markets were surging from some large merger activity and the continuation of a strong 2 nd quarter earnings season. Read More....

Markets To Watch Today

Crude Oil: A Gasoline rally yesterday sparked prices on Crude Oil contracts, which topped $75 a barrel. The Gasoline rally was brought on by the U.S.'s reluctance to insist on an immediate cease-fire in the Middle East between Israel and Hezbollah militias. The September Crude Oil contract rose 62 cents to close at $75.050

Gold: With the conflict in the Middle East softening and a stronger Dollar, traders took their profits and ran yesterday, pushing down Gold prices. The August Gold contract dropped $7.00 to $613.20 an ounce, and the July Gold contract fell $6.90, closing at $612.70.

Natural Gas: Higher temperatures forecasted across the country through the rest of this week are increasing the demand for gas-fired electricity, which is needed for cooling, thus pushing Natural Gas prices upward. The August Natural Gas contract closed 47 cents higher, at $6.605 MMBTu's.

FX Closing Comments

The Dollar was firm today and up against the other majors. The September Dollar Index was up 41 ticks on the day, largely as the result of a resurgent stock market. There was no significant data behind the move. Tuesday will bring us existing home sales data (est. 6600k for June). Tomorrow will also bring the Conference Boards consumer confidence figures for July, which are forecast at 102. Markets are expecting a moderate slide in the housing number, so expect some volatility if things turn-out to be especially poor, or if there is improvement in the numbers.

Sterling: Solid Performer

The market sold Dollars Friday, in the absence of any new data, and now looks ahead to a fresh week of releases. While the UK and European market is a bit thin this week, there will be a fair amount of data on the U.S. calendar. Perhaps the most telling new information will be the housing data, which is expected to show continued softness and confirm suspicions that the 2 nd half will see growth taper. Read More....

Sugar Continues To Slump

Sugar continues to slump: Sugar futures have left a bitter taste in the mouths of bulls recently, as prices have fallen to 5-week lows. India is expected to become an exporter of Sugar, as the country is expected to produce a bumper sugarcane crop of nearly 280 million tons. Read More....

Markets To Watch Today

Copper: Declines in metal prices, such as Gold have dropped prices in Copper, along with news from Chile that union workers are meeting with company officials at Escondida. A recent wave of fund selling has also pushed Copper prices down. July Copper fell 6.85 cents to $3.4165 a pound.

Grains: Recent cooler temperatures and scattered showers across the Midwest pushed Soybean and Corn futures prices down on Friday. September Corn dropped 5.25 cents, closing at $2.3725, a bushel and August Soybeans dropped 7.25 cents, closing at $5.77 a bushel.

Crude Oil: Crude Oil prices held their ground on Friday, with modest gains on the day, as traders were reluctant to sell any oil with the possibility of more ground conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hezbollah. Although Crude Oil prices are at historical highs, they have dropped about 5% from their record of $78.40 a barrel. Front month September Crude Oil was up 16 cents, closing at $74.43 a barrel.

Traders Getting Fired Up Over Gasoline Futures

Traders getting fired up over Gasoline futures: Gasoline futures bucked the recent trend of lower energy prices yesterday, as Valero Energy announced the shutdown of the Gasoline producing unit at its St. Charles refinery in Norco, Louisiana. Any supply disruptions will get traders attention, especially in the midst of the summer driving season in the US. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Gasoline demand for the four-week period ending July 14th rose to 9.6 million barrels a day, up nearly 2% from the same period last year. The rise comes despite record high retail Gasoline prices this summer. It appears that even $3 plus for a gallon of Gasoline will not stop most Americans from taking to the roads this summer. Read More....

GBP/JPY: 7-Year High Reached

There is no remaining data on the U.S. calendar, as we look to closeout another volatile week in the FX markets. European and UK data were generally strong overnight, and the Dollar is looking soft in early trade. Crude prices jumped another 50 cents overnight to $74.81. Shifting interest rate expectations (Fed pause, UK rise, Japan pause) and Middle-East tensions remain the major themes. Read More....

Markets To Watch Today

Copper: A sell-off triggered a drop in Copper prices, as traders took their profits after the gains from Wednesday's remarks made by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. Concerns over a potential strike at the world's largest Copper mine in Chile, Escondida, was not enough to keep prices bouncing back. The July Copper contract dropped 19.35 cents, closing at $3.4850 a pound.

Crude Oil: As expiration came for the August Crude Oil contract, prices offered a little jump ahead of the next month contract, September. The September contract is currently in a week-long drop, as concerns over the Mideast conflict ease up. The August Crude Oil contract closed up 42 cents at $73.08, while the September contract dropped 82 cents, closing at $73.95 a barrel.

Natural Gas: Natural Gas futures contracts rose yesterday after the release of data from the Energy Information Administration, reporting that 59 billion cubic feet of gas was put into storage for the week ending July 14th, below the current forecast by 1 billion cubic feet. The August Natural Gas contract went as high as $6.23 MMBTu's before closing up 23 cents at $6.091.

Coffee Grounded!

Coffee grounded: Coffee futures continue to trade lower, with the September contract hitting 10-month lows. Continued frost-free weather in the Coffee growing region of Minas Gerais of Brazil has allowed traders to remove most of the "weather premium" from prices. Read More....

FX Closing Comments

Most markets, including FX, were a bit dull today. The U.S. data was mixed: Conference Board's leading indicators were up .1 after last months -.6 reading, while the Philly Fed survey fell to 6 from June's 13 reading. The minutes to the last Fed meeting were also released and documented "significant uncertainty" about future policy, with one member indicating that last month's rate increase was "a close call." This week has given the market plenty to chew on and there seems to be a high degree of uncertainty hanging over the markets. Baring any major developments, the week may end on a quiet note, as investors step-back and reevaluate conditions over the weekend.

EUR/GBP: Sharp Bearish Moves

The story yesterday was the big rally in equities following Ben Bernanke's testimony. His performance, while less dramatic than his previous outings, was judged to be generically "dovish." Despite the actual inflation data (June core CPI was up .3% and higher than expected), Fed watchers interpreted his testimony to imply that a pause was likely. The thinking seems to be that a slowing economy generally and a slowing housing sector in particular, would naturally ease inflation pressures in the short to medium term. Furthermore, the delayed effects of the last few rises would also contribute to a manageable and comfortable inflation picture. Read More....

Cotton Climbs To Three-Week Highs

Cotton climbs to Three-week highs: Bulls may be finally gaining the upper hand in Cotton futures as a near-term bottom may be in place. Since posting contract lows of 5120 in the December contract, Cotton has rallied nearly 400 points, on concerns that hot dry weather in the main growing regions of Texas may spread further east. Earlier this week, the USDA reported 31% of the U.S. Cotton crop is in poor to very poor condition, up 2% from last week. 40% of the crop was rated in good to excellent, down nearly 20% from last year. Read More....

Join Us Today at 1:00 PM CDT For A Walkthrough Our Trading Platform

Though we expect you'll find our website to be refreshingly intuitive and user-friendly, you might still like to join us for a live, online system walk-through. This is a new service that we've decided to offer, and we think it'll be a great way for both new and existing clients to learn about everything our browser-based trading platform has to offer.These training sessions will be held twice weekly and take place online, in a virtual classroom. If you're interested in participating, you'll simply log into the training site at one of the designated times, and you can watch in real-time as a member of the XPRESSTRADE customer service team moves through the website, pointing out all the tools at your disposal. You can even listen to the instructor over your computer speakers.At the end of each online group training session, you’ll have the opportunity to post questions for the instructor. Not only will you receive direct answers to your questions, but you might very well find that answers to questions from your fellow traders will be helpful to you, too. We encourage you to give this new complimentary service a try!Every Wednesday at 12:00PM CST and Every Thursday at 1:00PM CST

Markets To Watch Today

Gold: Comments by Fed Chairman Bernanke that monetary tightening is close at hand generated some optimism causing the U.S. Dollar to reverse some of its past gains. This sparked some buying opportunities pushing gold up in trading yesterday. The July Gold contract rose $13.30 an ounce, closing at $641.60.

Natural Gas: After 2 straight days in a row of losses, Natural Gas prices were able to hold their own during Wednesday's trading session. August Natural Gas closed up 30.7 cents at $5.862 per million British thermal units.

Crude Oil: Reduced concerns regarding conflict in the Middle East and the U.S. Energy Information Administration report released yesterday, that U.S. Gasoline stockpiles had unexpectedly rose, pushed back Crude Oil prices to their lowest point for the month. The August Crude Oil contract dropped 88 cents, closing at $72.66 a barrel after dropping as low as $71.65.

Lows In For S&P Futures

Lows in for S&P futures? Stock index futures posted sharp gains across the board, with the S&P 500 futures leading the charge, as a "Dovish" testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke before the U.S. Senate spurred a buying frenzy in stocks. In his testimony, Chairman Bernanke stated that the Fed must be cautious of raising borrowing costs too much, and that "moderation" in U.S. economic growth is occurring. This had many traders believing that the Fed may pause in its tightening campaign at their August meeting. A weaker than expected Housing Starts figure for June also helped to support the dovish views. Read More....

FX Closing Comments

The Dollar come under pressure today, even though the closely watched core CPI number came in higher than expected. Seems that the prospect of falling housing sales and Ben Bernanke's dovish commentary combined to scale back interest rate expectations. There is a bit of secondary data in store for Thursday (leading indicators, Philly Fed survey, weekly jobless claims), as well as the influential retail sales numbers for the UK. Watch for a potential upward move in the Pound early in the morning if retail sales come in above expectation. Momentum is building for higher UK rates and the Bank of England is, more so than most, in a data dependant mood. Another bit of positive data would move the bank one notch closer to a hike.

EUR/USD: Close-Up View

The morning began with news that the core CPI for June rose 0.3%, which is higher than expected and consistent with the view that inflation growth has not yet tapered-off. There is, however, reason for Ben Bernanke to be a bit cautious in today's Senate testimony, because both housing starts and building permits were reported down. As always, the balancing act for the Fed is to contain inflation without extinguishing growth by "going too far." With housing such a major sector within the U.S. economy, the prospect of slowing housing starts leads some to believe that the economy may be cooling enough on its own, if given the chance. The risk that it will not is surely too great for the Fed at this stage. Read More....

Falling Timber

Falling timber: Lumber futures continue to fall, with the lead month September contract posting new contract lows yesterday. Commodity funds continue to sell the market with few willing buyers stepping up to the selling onslaught. Traders are fearful that the continued interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve will seriously affect the housing market, which would reduce new home sales and cut the demand for Lumber. There was some interest in bull spreading September/November Lumber by speculative accounts, as the historic seasonal tendency is for September to gain on the November contract. Read More....

Markets To Watch Today

Crude Oil: Drops in both Gold and Copper futures contracts pushed down Crude Oil prices, as well, reversing any gains made on speculation of prolonged fighting in the Middle East. August Crude Oil contracts closed $1.76 lower at $73.54 a barrel.

Natural Gas: Natural Gas prices fell yesterday due to a drop in Crude Oil prices and forecasts reporting a reprieve from the latest heat wave passing through the United States. The August contract was down 22.8 cents, closing at $5.555 per million British thermal units.

Gold: Gold futures dropped for a second day in a row, due to conflict between Israel and Hezbollah remaining calm. A drop in Treasury prices, meaning higher yields, also contributed to the fall in Gold prices. The July contract closed down $22.30 an ounce at $628.30, and the most active August contract closed down $22.40 at $629.50 an ounce.

Join Us Today at 12:00 Noon CDT For A Platform Walkthrough

Though we expect you'll find our website to be refreshingly intuitive and user-friendly, you might still like to join us for a live, online system walk-through. This is a new service that we've decided to offer, and we think it'll be a great way for both new and existing clients to learn about everything our browser-based trading platform has to offer.These training sessions will be held twice weekly and take place online, in a virtual classroom. If you're interested in participating, you'll simply log into the training site at one of the designated times, and you can watch in real-time as a member of the XPRESSTRADE customer service team moves through the website, pointing out all the tools at your disposal. You can even listen to the instructor over your computer speakers.At the end of each online group training session, you’ll have the opportunity to post questions for the instructor. Not only will you receive direct answers to your questions, but you might very well find that answers to questions from your fellow traders will be helpful to you, too. We encourage you to give this new complimentary service a try!Every Wednesday at 12:00PM CST and Every Thursday at 1:00PM CST

FX Closing Comments

FX Markets were fairly tame today. The Dollar index closed up 5 ticks before the important CPI figures, which are expected at 7:30 tomorrow, just before Ben Bernanke begins testifying to the Senate. Market expectations are split on whether or not the Fed will move a notch higher or pause in August. Tomorrow's data could be a decisive factor. Core CPI is expected to growth .2% from the previous month. Anything higher would be a strong sign that rates are headed higher.

Rain Makes Grain

Rain makes grain: For the second straight day, Corn futures posted large losses, as speculators and commodity funds liquidate long positions. An improving weather forecast, with heavier than expected precipitation in parts of the Midwest, had traders in a bearish mood. Commodity funds were holding nearly 200,000 net long positions as of July 11th, and many of those positions were being liquidated the past couple of days. Read More....

The Dollar Is Slightly Soft Heading Into Tuesday

The Dollar is slightly soft heading into Tuesday, with the September Dollar Index down 15 ticks, after a sizeable 90-point jump yesterday. Overseas, equities are slack, especially the Japanese Nikkei, which was playing catch-up after their Ocean Day holiday on Monday. The Nikkei was down 408 points. Middle East tensions continue to weigh on sentiment, while crude was up approximately 75 cents in the overnight session. This morning, the European data included the influential German ZEW survey, which slipped 15.1 from the previous month's 37.8. UK consumer inflation was reported on the high side. Read More....

Calm Before The Storm

Calm before the storm? Treasury bond futures have been as exciting as watching paint dry, as prices have been stuck in a 3-point range since early April. Conflicting economic signals and Middle East tensions have traders conflicted as to the ultimate direction for interest rates. This week holds several economic reports, as well as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaking before the Senate that may hold clues to where rates are headed. Read More....

CBOT To List Agriculture Futures Contracts On Its Electronic Trading Platform During Daytime Hours

CHICAGO, IL, April 26, 2006 - The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT®), one of the world’s leading derivatives exchanges, today announced that it is increasing global access to its benchmark Agricultural products by offering trading of CBOT Agricultural futures contracts on its electronic trading platform during daytime trading hours. Read More....

Markets To Watch Today

Gold: Profit taking spearheaded Gold's pullback yesterday, along with thoughts that the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah may not escalate. Analysts also state that lower Crude Oil prices and a stronger Dollar are causes for the lower Gold prices. July Gold dropped $16 to $650.60 an ounce, and the August Gold contract fell $16.10, closing at $651.90.

Copper: The strike at Grupo Mexico's Cananea Copper mine is over, and as a result, Copper prices fell dramatically. A strong Dollar and a decline in precious metals also contributed to the drop in Copper prices. The July Copper contract dropped 11.50 cents, closing at $3.7145 a pound.

Crude Oil: Crude Oil prices are coming off a four-day winning streak. Crude Oil prices dropped sharply, as diplomatic efforts were put in place to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. August Crude Oil option expiration was also a contributor to the lower prices amid a day full of extreme volatility. August Crude Oil, dropped $1.73, settling at $75.30.

Dan O’Neil, A Principal At XPRESSTRADE, Talks About Today’s Futures Markets In The August Stocks & Commodities Magazine

We’ve been hearing more and more about the upcoming hurricane season because of last year’s record damage. Obviously, severe weather can cause havoc in some commodity markets. What are a few futures markets to look at in terms of potential storm-related shocks?

While nobody likes to think about profiting from a natural disaster that upends so many people’s lives, the fact is that many commodity markets have long been subject to the ebbs and flows of weather. In fact, adverse weather is one of the main challenges that many commodity producers face, and futures and options were designed largely to help producers manage and mitigate such risks. Weather-related action in many of these markets just naturally opens up opportunities for speculators as well. Read More....

Cocoa Meltdown

Cocoa meltdown: September Cocoa had its worst one-day loss of the year, as speculative selling was met with few buyers, allowing prices to plunge. Cocoa futures gained nearly $200 per ton the past three weeks on speculative buying tied to an increase in civil unrests in the Ivory Coast, as the country prepared for possible elections in October. As the world's leading Cocoa producer, traders fear any disruptions may hurt Cocoa shipments out of the country. Read More....

FX Closing Comments

Today was a big day for the greenback, with the Dollar Index up a full 90 ticks today. Flight to quality buying was frequently sited as a prime reason, while a $16 drop in Gold was also helpful. In terms of data, industrial production was up strong, which implied a high degree of capacity utilization and possibly future inflation. The more telling figures are, however, yet to come. In fact, there may be a bit of drama on Wednesday as the influential core CPI figure will be released just 30 minutes before Ben Bernanke begins testifying before the Senate. Many now see rates taking another step higher in August. Early tomorrow, look for the key German ZEW index to be released, which may perk-up Euro pairs. The figure is expected at 34, down from last month's 37.8.

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Bulls Sour On Sugar

Bulls sour on Sugar: Sugar, one of the best performing markets of 2005, has turned in a lackluster performance so far in 2006, with the October contract falling to three-week lows. Sugar has been popular with speculators as an energy play, as its usage for the production of ethanol has been gaining in popularity due to record high gasoline prices. However, the USDA recently released a report stating that the production of Sugar based ethanol would only be economically feasible in the U.S. if prices stay above $3 per gallon. Read More....

GBP/USD: Approaching The 100-Day

The Dollar is up strong overnight, with the gains spread across all the majors. Equity markets, however, are down around the world, with the major themes remaining Middle East turmoil, high Crude prices (though prices moderated in weekend trade), and rising interest rates. In terms of data, this week has plenty to offer. Likely the major event of the week will be Fed Chairman Bernanke's testimony to the Senate, which analysts will be watching closely for any new insights to current thinking. Expect a cautious display, given the heavy criticism of his early press statements. Read More....

Markets To Watch Today

Energies: As prices continue to reach record territories in the energy markets so is the volume of contracts traded. Competition between the New York Mercantile Exchange contracts, which offer pit traded energy contracts, and Intercontinental Exchange, which offers electronicly traded energy contracts, has heightened with the price of energy contracts as a whole. Average Daily Volume for Crude Oil contracts at the NYMEX is 266,333 contracts, from 237,651 last year for the same period. ICE Brent Crude Oil volumes are down for the year, trading 213,275 on July 13th, compared to 232,995 on March 9th of this year. Average Daily volume for the ICE Brent Crude Oil contract is 161,254 year-to-date.

Dollar: The Dollar is expected to make some dramatic swings this week, with several data reports being released along with Ben Bernanke's testimony to the congressional panel Wednesday and Thursday. Just as important to the direction of the Dollar are the increasing tensions in the Middle East, the standoff with Iran over its nuclear ambitions, and of course, the North Korean's missile testing. According to analysts, the Dollar could strengthen with increased global risks, as investors move to safe-harbor investments.

FX Closing Comments

The Dollar had a good day today, possibly as result of safe-haven buying. The significant retail sales figures for June were down sharply against expectations, though excluding automobiles, they were up .3%. Most of the ex-auto gains, however, were due to rises in service station receipts. Even still, the Dollar Index was up 27 ticks,posting gains against all the majors except the Canadian Dollar. The Loonie experienced small gains on the most recent spike in energy prices. A significant figure for next week will be the TIC or capital inflow data from the Treasury, which is thought to be soft according to reports on Japanese treasury purchases and the Fed's custody report. The figures are due on Tuesday.

Orange Juice Falls On Late Reaction To USDA Report

Orange Juice falls on late reaction to USDA report: It was an ugly day for Juice bulls, as speculators bail out of long positions the day after an disappointing USDA Crop Production report. The USDA estimated the final Florida Orange Crop at 151 million 90lb boxes, down 2 million boxes from last months estimates. This was on the low end of analysts estimates of a decline of between 1 and 6 million boxes. The also left average yields unchanged at 1.63 gallons per box. Read More....

Markets To Watch Today

Wheat: Prices for the Minneapolis Spring Wheat contract struggled yesterday, as traders took advantage of recent high prices due to the extreme dryness of the Midwest region of the country. The limited precipitation is not offering enough relief and many of the Spring Wheat fields are still suffering. The July Spring Wheat contract dropped 30 cents, closing at $5.08 a bushel.

Natural Gas: Anticipation of the late summer hurricane season and higher temperatures pushed Natural Gas prices up yesterday. Following the release data reporting a larger than expected gas storage build, Natural Gas fell as low as $5.72/per million British Thermal Units, but rallied back to settle 34.7 cents up, at $6.129/MMBtu's.

Crude Oil: Increased tensions in the Middle East pushed prices in Crude Oil up above the $76 a barrel mark yesterday. Analysts say prices will reach $80 a barrel, and will most likely hit $90 a barrel. Between the strong demand for gasoline and U.S. global political tensions, Crude prices have jumped nearly 12% in the last 3 weeks and 26% overall this year. The August Crude Oil contract ended trading yesterday up $1.75 at $76.70 a barrel.

FX Closing Comments

Trading in the FX markets was tempered today, with the Dollar Index down 9 ticks. The threat of increasing global tensions gripped many markets today, as turmoil worsened in the Middle East. It is possible to argue that the Dollar might benefit from some "safe haven" buying, although none materialized today. Part of the concern is that capital inflows may have dipped again in May after the Bank of Japan reveled that Japanese purchases of U.S. bonds were down in May. Fed custody holders were also down in May. This is worrisome news in light of May's record trade deficit. Tomorrow will bring us U.S. retail sales data, which is expected to show a.5% gain. The preliminary July Michigan confidence survey is also due and expected to have dipped form 84.9 to 83.5. The other big event risk is tonight's decision from the Bank of Japan about their interest rate policy. A quarter-point hike is expected and an interesting commentary is also anticipated.

Join Us Today at 1:00 PM CDT For a Platform Walk-Through

Though we expect you'll find our website to be refreshingly intuitive and user-friendly, you might still like to join us for a live, online system walk-through. This is a new service that we've decided to offer, and we think it'll be a great way for both new and existing clients to learn about everything our browser-based trading platform has to offer.These training sessions will be held twice weekly and take place online, in a virtual classroom. If you're interested in participating, you'll simply log into the training site at one of the designated times, and you can watch in real-time as a member of the XPRESSTRADE customer service team moves through the website, pointing out all the tools at your disposal. You can even listen to the instructor over your computer speakers.At the end of each online group training session, you’ll have the opportunity to post questions for the instructor. Not only will you receive direct answers to your questions, but you might very well find that answers to questions from your fellow traders will be helpful to you, too. We encourage you to give this new complimentary service a try!Every Wednesday at 12:00PM CST and Every Thursday at 1:00PM CST

USD/JPY: Waiting On The BOJ

Overnight, equities were down across the board, on a combination of oil price rises, interest rate concerns, and tensions in the Middle East. Yesterday, light crude rose 79 cents to close at $74.95. In early U.S. trade, metals are up, most currencies are quiet, and the front-month Dollar Index is nearly flat. Today's data includes the weekly jobless claims and the Treasuries fiscal budget figures for June. In Europe, German and French inflation data was within expectations, though still likely beyond the ECB's comfort level. Most analysts, in light of the last ECB statement, are confident that early August will see a rate hike in the euro-zone. Read More....

Geopolitical Concerns Keep Gold Prices Buoyant

Geopolitical concerns keep Gold prices buoyant: Gold futures hit six-week highs yesterday, despite a stronger U.S. Dollar, as safe haven buying returns. Conflicts in Israel, Iran, North Korea, and India have many investors nervous, which historically has meant increased investments in Gold. After hitting a high of 723.00 for the lead month futures back in May, Gold futures have fallen over $160, leading some to believe the precious metals bubble was over. Read More....

Markets To Watch Today

Gold: Bullish technical chart points and rising tensions following the recent railway bombing in Mumbai pushed Gold prices up in trading yesterday. Gold prices touched a 6-week high. August Gold rose $8.10 an ounce, closing at $651.20, and the July contract was up $8.20 an ounce, closing at $649.40.

Cotton: Concerns over the health of the 2006-2007 Cotton crop and reports from the Agriculture Department reporting data that the upcoming crops will be smaller pushed prices up in Cotton contracts yesterday. The December contract for Cotton, which represents this coming fall's harvest, was up 1.06 cents, closing at 53.71 cents per pound.

Crude Oil: Tensions brought on by the Israel air assault and ground invasion into Lebanon pushed Crude Oil prices yesterday. Mixed weekly inventory data information released earlier this week and potential instability in this key oil-producing region also contributed to the rise in Crude Oil prices. August Crude Oil rose 79 cents, settling at $74.95.

Bulls Still In Corntrol!

Bulls still in Corntrol! Corn futures bucked the trend of lower grain prices this morning, as the USDA once again lowered U.S. 2006-07 Corn ending stocks. Today's reports had 2006-07 ending stocks at 1.077 billion bushels, slightly lower than June's estimate of 1.091 billion bushels. The drop came despite an increase in production estimates to 10.740 bullion bushels. Higher demand was the reason for the decrease in ending stocks, as increase in exports and feed usage should overcome increased supplies. Read More....

FX Closing Comments

The Dollar was surprisingly firm today, despite a record trade deficit. Seems traders took comfort in the fact that the data had imporoved, if you factored-out energy imports. As is always the case, the full situation will be revealed when the corresponding capital flow data is released next week. Aside from tomorrow's weekly jobless claims, we will also learn the state of the government's finances, which are said to have improved significantly. Friday will bring us June's retail sales figures. The Dollar index was up 57 ticks and the gains were broadly based.

Can't Keep Copper Down!

Can't keep Copper down! Just when you thought Copper prices had peaked comes new supply concerns, as escalating labor issues hit the Escondida Copper mine in Chile. Trade unions there report that labor contract negotiations are not likely to start any time soon, despite the expiration of their contract at the end of July. Miners are preparing to strike on August 2nd. This news coupled with low global supplies of the red metal have caught the eyes of bullish speculators once again, causing the recent rally. Read More....

CHF/JPY: Choppy And Bullish

Today the major event is the release of May's trade deficit figure (-$63.8b), which is slightly less than expected, though more than the previous month. Once again, the simple grandness of this number will remind the market of the biggest risk to the Dollar's present strength. In April, capital inflows were only $42.7b and not on par with the trade shortfall. On the other hand, according to the White House, we may soon not have to fret so much about the other twin of the "twin deficits", namely the budget deficit, which is expected to have fallen sizably in recent months. Fiscal budget figures are due for release tomorrow. Read More....

Join Us Today at 12:00 Noon CDT For A Walk Through Our Site!

Though we expect you'll find our website to be refreshingly intuitive and user-friendly, you might still like to join us for a live, online system walk-through. This is a new service that we've decided to offer, and we think it'll be a great way for both new and existing clients to learn about everything our browser-based trading platform has to offer.These training sessions will be held twice weekly and take place online, in a virtual classroom. If you're interested in participating, you'll simply log into the training site at one of the designated times, and you can watch in real-time as a member of the XPRESSTRADE customer service team moves through the website, pointing out all the tools at your disposal. You can even listen to the instructor over your computer speakers.At the end of each online group training session, you’ll have the opportunity to post questions for the instructor. Not only will you receive direct answers to your questions, but you might very well find that answers to questions from your fellow traders will be helpful to you, too. We encourage you to give this new complimentary service a try!Every Wednesday at 12:00PM CST and Every Thursday at 1:00PM CST

Markets To Watch Today

Wheat: A report yesterday from the Agriculture Department said that 27% of the spring wheat crop is in either poor or very poor conditions in the Northern Plains region of the country, pushing prices up to 10 year highs. July Wheat was up 9 cents, closing at $5.40 a bushel. The September Wheat contract was up 10.75 cents, settling at $5.3150 a bushel.

Crude Oil: For the first time in the last 4 sessions, Crude Oil futures ended the day higher, as renewed worries surface about Iran's nuclear program. August Crude Oil closed 55 cents higher at $74.16 a barrel.

Copper: Tight supplies and concerns over a potential strike at a Chilean producer pushed Copper prices upward in yesterday's trading. Adding to the rise in prices is the strength in other metals, specifically, Gold, Silver and Nickel, analysts stated. The September Copper contract was up 5.25 cents, closing at $3.6350 per pound, while July Copper contracts closed up 4.55 cents, at $3.7225

FX Closing Comments

FX pairs experienced a fair amount of volatility, but the Dollar remained largely unchanged in most pairs. The Sept. Dollar Index was down 13 ticks on the day. The big mover was the Canadian Dollar, which sold-off quickly, though moderately, when it was announced that the Bank of Canada had paused on rates. The bank's commentary was also fairly dovish and predicted an energy related slowdown heading into the 2nd half of the year. Tomorrow the emphasis will shift to the U.S. trade deficit and the number for May is expected to be -$65b, based mostly on higher fuel prices. On the other side of things, the budget deficit is expected to have shrunk dramatically.

USD/CAD: Interest Rate Effect

Equity markets were down overnight, and there is a lot of speculation surfacing about the possibility that the Bank of Japan will be hiking rates this week. Odds of such a move were lifted yesterday, with news that growth in bank lending had its biggest jump in over ten years. This rate-rising scenario may not, however, be a negative for the global stock markets, as the possibility exists that investors will interpret such a development as proof that Japan's recovery is for real. Read More....

Wheat Can't Stand The Heat!

Wheat can't stand the heat! A lingering drought in the northern Plains has continued to wreak havoc on this year's Hard Red Spring Wheat crop. This variety, traded on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGE) has surged above the psychologically important $5 level this Summer. Yesterday's Weekly Crop Progress report showed further deterioration, with 27% of the crop in poor to very poor condition, which was an increase of 7% in the past week. Only 42% of the crop was rated good to excellent, a drop of a stunning 10% in just one week. Read More....

Markets To Watch Today

Corn: Hotter weather in the Midwest has pushed up prices in Corn futures yesterday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts areas in the Dakotas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Iowa will be expanding their dry areas. July corn rose 6.75 cents, closing at $2.4775 cents a bushel. The December contract was also up 6.75 cents, closing at $2.7250.

Live Cattle: Live Cattle futures prices were sluggish yesterday, as prices paid for physical cattle were lower than anticipated. News from Canada that they are testing brain samples of a dairy cow, suspected to have mad-cow disease, did not impact the market in yesterday's trading. August Live Cattle fell 1.12 cents to 84.20 cents a pound.

Crude Oil: Optimism that Iran may actually make a deal regarding its nuclear program resulted in dropping Crude Oil prices yesterday. Although Iran has said they will not make any decisions until next month, the EU is hopeful to hear a response today on a package presented to them full of incentives to end their standoff. August Crude Oil dropped 48 cents, closing at $73.61.

FX Closing Comments

The Dollar kept its firm posture throughout the day, in the absence of any substantial new U.S. data. The week does, however, contain some important figures, namely the trade (May) and budget (June) deficit figures, and June retail sales figures. There is also a Bank of Canada meeting tomorrow morning, which is a difficult call. If rates are raised there may be a strong bullish reaction, as consensus opinion is calling for a pause. On Thursday the Bank of Japan meets and that too is a tough call, with many of the view that the era of free money will be ended and rates hiked to .25% for the first time in 5 years.

AUD/CAD: Making Technical Gains

It will be interesting to take note of the market's mood as we enter the new week. Last week's volatility in many financial markets saw both the Dollar and equity markets trading erratically. In early futures trading, we can see that the Dollar Index is up strongly at 85.13. Overnight, equity markets were mostly up, with Japan's Nikkei making a 245-point gain and European indices keeping their heads above water. Metals are soft across the board. The Dollar is likely to benefit from any perceived decrease in "risk premiums". Read More....

The Smell Of Falling Prices Awakens Coffee Bears

The smell of falling prices awakens Coffee bears: So much for the correction! Coffee futures erased most of their recent gains on Friday, as continued frost-free weather in Brazil had traders in a bearish mood. Commodity futures were lower across the board on Friday, and Coffee was no exception. Origin selling capped an early rally based on stronger prices in London. Then local selling helped push prices through support at 101.95, triggering sell-stops along the way. Read More....

Markets To Watch Today

Energies: Everyone from policy-makers, traders, companies, and even consumers have been affected by the recent push by big hedge fund companies into the energy markets. They have actually flooded the market as Crude Oil prices test loftier and loftier levels. This is forcing energy traders to pay more attention, as these funds tend to drive the prices one way or the other. Crude Oil went as high as $75.78 before settling at $74.09 on Friday.

Dollar: The Dollar is expected to decline this week, ahead of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting at the end of this week. Even if the Dollar does continue its drop versus other currencies, it is not expected to have any big movements. Analysts are saying that the Retail Sales Data report that is expected to be released Friday will be a "temperature check" on the U.S. consumer. The September Dollar closed down 39, at 8464 on Friday.

FX Closing Comments

The Yen was a big-moving currency contract today, with price action being influenced by a number of factors. One factor was an overnight rumor that a special Peoples Bank of China meeting had been scheduled to widen the Yuan trading range. This chatter came as the Yuan hit a post revaluation high in Asian trade, though China declined comment on the rumor. Japan also upgraded its economic assessment and officials have been "cautiously hawkish" in recent remarks. There was also some Yen buying in response to the Cabinet Secretary, who intimated that recent developments in North Korea would not alter their interest rate policy. BOJ Governor Fukui was also on record saying that all matters would be discussed when considering policy. Traders took these remarks as a sign that rates may be going up next week at next Friday's meeting. The broadly based Dollar sell-off also helped matters during the U.S. session. The September Yen Futures Contract gapped-up 34 points to open at .8806, reached a high of .8875, and closed at .8859. (fill-in name)

Bullish Speculators Go Cocoa Nuts!

Bullish speculators go Cocoa nuts! On a day when nearly every commodity was in the red, there was one bright spot -- Cocoa! September Cocoa closed at 16-month highs, as commodity funds continue to add to long positions. September Cocoa has closed higher the past six trading days since closing above the downtrend line formed from the January 18th highs. Traders noted a weakening U.S. Dollar and strong German Cocoa grind figures as supporting factors to the recent price surge. Technical traders will notice the increase in volume since the 6/28 breakout, which confirms the validity of the breakout to the upside. Support for September Cocoa is seen at the chart gap at 1619, with resistance at 1750. September Cocoa closed at 1729, up 19. Read More....

DJ Nybot FCOJ Review: Speculative Sales Hit FCOJ Prices Hard

Dow Jones Newswire

Frozen concentrated orange juice futures stumbled to two-week lows Friday as
speculative and fund selling sent prices through support areas and triggered
stops, an analyst said.

Spec and fund sales took many futures markets down Friday, however, and FCOJ
was no exception, said Mike Zarembski, analyst and futures desk manager at XPRESSTRADE in Chicago.

Most-active September juice fell 740 points to $1.6430 a pound, after
reaching a two-week low of $1.6350.

"It was an ugly, ugly day," Zarembski said. "After making a 15-year high
yesterday (Thursday) and then falling apart a bit at the close, speculators
were just bailing out."

Spec and fund sales drove the market into stops around $1.70 and $1.69, which
attracted additional price pressure, he said.

Most futures markets, except cocoa, fell Friday on widespread speculative
selling interest in the commodity markets. "Orange juice was primed for a
correction here," Zarembski said, after traveling to new highs this week.

Market participants are now looking toward Wednesday's release of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Florida crop production report -- the last of the
2005-06 season. One FCOJ broker said the government could slash up to 6 million
boxes off its current 153-million-box estimate based on the late harvest,
processing plants closing for the season and a labor shortage. Zarembski said
he expects a more modest production cut of 2-3 million boxes.

Options trading has been active this week, which may suggest there may be
renewed concerns about Florida's new crop oranges. Market talk and trade
estimates peg the 2006-07 crop at 160-165 million boxes, but a dry spring has
some traders thinking the crop could be even smaller, he explained.

Meanwhile, no tropical storms are expected to develop in the Atlantic Ocean
or Caribbean Sea through Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said on its
Web site.

FCOJ futures volume was estimated at 2,510 contracts, with 2,099 calls and
923 put options traded.

The July/September spread reversed and settled at 265 points, July over.

Open interest on Thursday fell 176 to 29,795 contracts. September open
interest rose slightly to 23,942, while July decreased to 166 positions, Nybot
reported.

Non-Farm Payrolls Fail To Live Up To Expectations

Non-farm payrolls fail to live up to expectations: Once again, analysts and economists were off the mark in predicting the non-farm payrolls figure. The Labor Department reported this morning that non-farm payrolls increased by 121,000 in June, well below the average estimate of 200,000 jobs and less than 1/3 the figure reported earlier this week from ADP Employer Services and Macroeconomic Advisers. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.6%. Average hourly earnings came in higher than expected, posting a gain of 0.5% to $16.70. Read More....

EUR/JPY: Another All-Time High

Today's influential jobs report was just unveiled, showing 121,000 new jobs created in June, with the employment rate remaining unchanged at 4.6%. Hourly earnings rose a higher than expected .5%. While far below expectations, the number is an improvement of May's revised 92,000 (previous 75,000). Thus far, the market reaction has been to sell Dollars. In the absence of a blockbuster jobs number, it seems that the market's first reaction was to factor a higher likelihood of a Fed pause. Read More....

Markets To Watch Today

Crude Oil: An unexpected increase in Gasoline inventories last week had traders backing away from Wednesday highs. The release of this information caused a sell-off during mid-session yesterday. Prices recovered later in the session, after strong Gasoline demand figures were released. August Crude Oil closed lower by 5 cents at $75.14 a barrel.

Natural Gas: With cooler than expected summer weather in high electricity consuming states, futures prices have continued downward in Natural Gas trading. August Natural Gas closed 10.1 cents lower at $5.664 per million British Thermal Units.

Corn: With no rain in the forecast anytime soon, concerns over dryness in the Western Belt are pushing Corn prices upwards. Even though the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported that as of Monday, 68% of the Corn crop is in good-to-excellent condition, concerns will continue to loom until after the pollination stage, when a potential yield can be determined. July Corn rose 5.75 cents, closing at $2.4525, and December Corn was up 5.75 cents, closing at $2.7025

FX Closing Comments

The Dollar slipped back today, largely as a result of an aggressive sounding ECB, who nonetheless decided to keep rates unchanged (2.75%) at their monthly meeting. Using the term "strong vigilance", ECB President Trichet sent the signal that rates would be rising in August. The Bank of England also left rates unchanged, but they do not hold press conferences. The Euro gains were tempered, however, by the possibility that tomorrow's payroll figure will be high. Expectations are calling for a figure of 175,000. The higher the number, the better for the Dollar. Given the current sentiment, it would seem that the risk is to the downside, and that a low number could easily provoke a bout of Dollar selling. The number will be released at 7:30 a.m. Central Time.

USD/JPY: Bullish Price Channel

Although Crude prices spiked higher yesterday on geo-political concerns in Iran and North Korea, the Dollar managed to make some nice gains. Offsetting the political negatives was the usually inconsequential ADP jobs report, which posted its largest month-on-month jump ever and implied a strong non-farm payroll number on Friday. The ADP report cited 368,000 new private-sector jobs for June, up from 122,000 in May. Read More....

Oil+Political Tensions = Record High Prices

Oil+Political Tensions = Record high prices: This has been the formula for the past several months, as worldwide turmoil and high Crude Oil demand has set the stage for all time high Oil prices. Political tensions involving North Korea, Nigeria, Iran, and Iraq are forcing traders to place a high "risk premium" on the price of Oil, as fears of possible supply disruptions keep traders nervous. Now that lead month Oil futures are trading above $75, there are calls that prices could reach $80 to $85 by the end of the year. Read More....

Markets To Watch Today

Gold: The fact that the United Arab Emirates may add to its Gold reserves, concerns about Iran's nuclear program and some safe-haven buying were all forces yesterday in Gold prices rising. July Gold rose $13.80 an ounce, closing at $627.30 and August Gold was up $13.70, closing at $629.70

Wheat: Forecasts of hot, dry weather in the Northern Plains are growing concerns over further deterioration in the hard red spring wheat crop. July Minneapolis Wheat contracts rose 10 cents, settling at $5.20 a bushel.

Crude Oil: Due to growing demand for oil and word that there may be shortages of supplies in the Middle East, Crude Oil prices surged past $75 a barrel, going as high as $75.40 in trading yesterday. This is a new benchmark for the U.S. since the last high was made back on April 21st. Today the Energy Department will be releasing its closely watched weekly snapshot of Oil use and inventories. August Crude Oil closed up $1.26 a barrel at $75.19.

Strong Demand Sends Sugar Higher

Strong demand sends Sugar higher: October Sugar futures hit 7-week highs this morning, as producer short-covering and speculative buying sent prices soaring. Supplies of world Sugar continue to remain tight, with the International Sugar Organization reporting that global demand could exceed production by nearly 1 million tons this year. Read More.....

FX Closing Comments

Although crude prices spiked higher today on geo-political turmoils in Iran and North Korea, the Dollar managed to make some nice gains. The Dollar Index was up 45 ticks today and the gains were broadly based. Much of the optimism had to do with a surprisingly big factory orders figure for May. The headline number was .7%, against expectations for a 2% loss. Excluding transportation orders, the gain was 1.2%. The pick-up in factory activity calls to question the predicted economic slow-down, which many analysts (including the Fed) feel is approaching in the 2nd half. Tomorrow, the Bank of England and ECB meet, though no changes are expected. UK industrial production and manufacturing data are also on tap.

Dollar Up In Spite Of Missile Testing By North Korea

The Dollar Index is up 42 ticks this morning, in spite of the news that North Korea tested a number of missiles (at least one long-range) yesterday. Asian equity markets were down, though not by much. As of this writing, the market seems to be rejecting any knee-jerk reaction to developments, possibly because the tests themselves seemed to have fizzled. Read More....

Cotton Flirting with Contract Lows

Cotton flirting with contract lows: Not even drought conditions in Texas can keep Cotton futures from falling. Speculative selling has kept Cotton prices down the past several sessions, ignoring bullish fundamentals. Trade buying has been seen in the 5400 to 5300 area which has kept prices from falling further. Read More....

Join Us Today at Noon CDT For Walkthrough Our Site

Though we expect you'll find our website to be refreshingly intuitive and user-friendly, you might still like to join us for a live, online system walk-through. This is a new service that we've decided to offer, and we think it'll be a great way for both new and existing clients to learn about everything our browser-based trading platform has to offer.These training sessions will be held twice weekly and take place online, in a virtual classroom. If you're interested in participating, you'll simply log into the training site at one of the designated times, and you can watch in real-time as a member of the XPRESSTRADE customer service team moves through the website, pointing out all the tools at your disposal. You can even listen to the instructor over your computer speakers.At the end of each online group training session, you’ll have the opportunity to post questions for the instructor. Not only will you receive direct answers to your questions, but you might very well find that answers to questions from your fellow traders will be helpful to you, too. We encourage you to give this new complimentary service a try!Every Wednesday at 12:00PM CST and Every Thursday at 1:00PM CST

Markets To Watch Today

Coffee: The start of the new quarter brought on speculative buying by funds on Monday. July Coffee was up 2.50 cents, closing at $1.02 per pound.

Wheat: As drought concerns increase, so do prices at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. July Wheat was up 14 cents, closing at $5.10 a bushel.

Dollar: Although U.S. markets were closed yesterday, the Dollar was up against most of the major rivals. The Dollar is expected to hold steady through the remainder of the week, as it has been on the defensive from monetary-policy concerns. The Dollar was up versus the Yen yesterday, and closed at 114.74 Yen, up from 114.65 on Monday.

Coffee Percolates

Coffee Percolates: September Coffee futures were up again today on continued short-covering as it looked like traders weren't going to take a break for the holiday, when the market gapped .70 higher to open at 102.50. It continued to rally to a high of 104.75 just eclipsing first resistance at 104.65. All the action was in the first hour as the high and low of the day was logged. The market then settled into a two-way trade as traders squared up and left early to extend the holiday. The next resistance point is now 107.40, but we need to take out the spike high of 105.90 before we can talk about the 107 handle. The Coffee market will be closed tomorrow and will reopen Wednesday 7/5. September Coffee futures closed at 103.50, up 2.40 for the session. Alan Shaults XPRESSTRADE analyst Read More....

FX Closing Comments

The Dollar was mixed and range bound today in a quiet session that saw very little price action. The Dollar Index closed down a mere 5 ticks. There was a bit of soft data released in the form of the Institute of Supply Management's index on manufacturing activity, which fell to 53.8 against expectations of 54.4. This low number came on the same day when all of Europe's comparable numbers were up significantly from expectations, implying that growth in manufacturing was tilting towards the other side of the Atlantic. After the 4th of July holiday, the next big number will be Friday's non-farm payroll figure, which is expected near 165,000.

Corn Pops

Corn Pops: Corn futures have rebounded significantly since hitting a low of 2.21 on June 26th , with the entire grain market being driven higher by dryer weather forecasts for the coming weeks. Read More....

Greenback Remains Under Pressure

Last week ended with a 2nd day of Dollar losses, as traders continued sense a "dovish" tone hidden between the words of Thursday's Fed announcement. Beginning the week, the greenback remains under pressure in what could be a tempered session, as today is a "quasi-holiday" positioned between a summer weekend and the actual holiday on Tuesday. As such, some, but not all, financial markets are closed in the U.S. Read More....

Markets To Watch Today

Metals: As the gold market heats up, metal traders are taking notice of the Gold contracts traded at the Chicago Board of Trade. In fact, this Chicago Board of trade metal has approximately 50% of the total volume. This does not mean that volume at the New York Mercantile Exchange COMEX division has not been reaching highs as well, in fact they have hit new highs several times this year, and as recently as last month. August New York Gold closed up .20 at 616.20, and August Chicago Gold closed up 26.9 at 616.10.

Dollar: With last weeks declining Dollar prices, set off by the Federal Reserve policy statement, the US currency should be trading within tight ranges this week. The holiday this week will also keep trading subdued, as well, as many market participants may not be trading today or tomorrow. Front month September Dollar closed down .60 at 84.90.