Oil Trims Rally as Investors Weigh OPEC’s Inaction on Supply

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West Texas Intermediate crude fell, trimming the biggest rally since August 2012 as investors weighed OPECs decision to let the market curb a global supply glut. Brent was steady in London.

Futures slid 0.3 percent in New York, declining for the fifth time in six days. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may hold an emergency meeting early next year, Venezuelas Foreign Minister Rafael Ramirez said in an interview with Panorama newspaper. The groups failure to cut output at a gathering last week bodes well for U.S. producers, according to billionaire wildcatter Harold Hamm.

Oil has collapsed into a bear market amid the fastest rate of U.S. production in more than three decades and signs of slowing global demand growth. OPEC, which is responsible for about 40 percent of the worlds supply, resisted calls from members including Venezuela and Iran to reduce its official target of 30 million barrels a day on Nov. 27 in Vienna.

WTI for January delivery dropped 20 cents to $68.80 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:15 p.m. Sydney time. The contract rose 4.3 percent to $69 yesterday, retracing a loss of as much as 3.7 percent. The volume of all futures traded was about 9 percent below the 100-day average. Prices have decreased 30 percent this year.

Brent for January settlement was 5 cents lower at $72.49 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude traded at a premium of $3.65 to WTI, compared with $3.54 yesterday.

Source: Bloomberg

Gold Retreats From Five-Week High on Outlook for Stronger Dollar

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Gold retreated after the biggest one-day rally in more than a year as investors weighed the outlook for a stronger dollar against a rebound in oil prices. Silver, platinum and palladium dropped.

Bullion for immediate delivery declined as much as 0.7 percent to $1,203.45 an ounce, and traded at $1,205.47 at 8:55 a.m. in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal rallied yesterday to $1,221.43, the highest level since Oct. 30, after climbing from a three-week low of $1,142.88 as some investors ended bets on lower prices.

Gold advanced 3.8 percent yesterday, the most since Sept. 2013, as crude recovered from a five-year low and the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell from the highest since 2009. The gauge of the U.S. currency remains 8.3 percent higher this year amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will start to raise interest rates next year, hurting golds allure. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the largest exchange-traded product backed by the metal, shrank 10 percent in 2014 to a six-year low.

Gold dropped for a third month in November as the Fed assessed the timing of rate rises, while other central banks added to stimulus, strengthening the dollar. Policy makers at the European Central Bank and Bank of England meet Dec. 4.

Source: Bloomberg

Japanese Stocks Fall After Debt Downgrade as Yen Strengthens

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Japanese stocks fell, with the Topix index retreating from a six-year high, as the yen strengthened after Moodys Investors Service cut the countrys credit rating in the first downgrade of Prime Minister Shinzo Abes regime.

The Topix lost 0.5 percent to 1,414.76 as of 9:05 a.m. in Tokyo. All but five of the 33 industry groups slid. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 0.6 percent to 17,488.50. The yen dropped to 119.14 per dollar right after Moodys announcement yesterday before reversing course and gaining 0.2 percent. It added 0.1 percent to 118.28 today after last month weakening the most since January 2013. West Texas Intermediate crude futures posted the biggest advance in two years yesterday after tumbling 10 percent on Nov. 28.

Moodys cut the rating one level to A1 after Abe decided to delay a sales-tax increase by 18 months as an initial estimate of gross domestic product showed the economy contracted in the September quarter, sending the country back into recession.

Source: Bloomberg

Most Asian Stocks Fall as Technology Shares Retreat, Topix Drops

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Most Asian stocks dropped, led by a decline in technology shares after Apple Inc. slumped the most in two months in New York. Australian equities rebounded from the largest slump in seven weeks.

Three shares retreated for every two that advanced on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which was little changed at 139.67 as of 9:13 a.m. in Tokyo, before markets opened in Hong Kong and China. Samsung Electronics Co. and SoftBank Corp. were the biggest drags on the measure. Australias S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.6 percent, led by commodity shares, as West Texas Intermediate crude held a rebound after yesterday dropping below $65 a barrel for the first time in more than four years.

WTI futures in New York advanced as much as 4.3 percent overnight, after posting the biggest monthly loss in almost six years as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries signaled it would take no action to ease a global glut.

BHP Billiton Ltd. and Oil Search Ltd. were the biggest boosts to the ASX 200 today after the gauge slumped 2 percent yesterday. The Reserve Bank of Australia is forecast to hold its benchmark interest rate at a record low 2.5 percent today. BHP Billiton, the worlds largest mining company, climbed 3.6 percent after yesterdays 5.3 percent slump. Rio Tinto Group rose 1.3 percent.

Source: Bloomberg

U.S. Shares Fall as China Factory Data, Black Friday Disappoint

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U.S. stocks declined as weaker data on Black Friday sales and China manufacturing overshadowed a rebound in oil and expansion in American factories.

The S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent to 2,053.5 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 48.75 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,779.49. The technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index lost 1.2 percent. Trading in S&P 500 companies was 18 percent above the 30-day average for this time of the day.

The S&P 500 dropped as much as 0.8 percent in the first half hour of trading after Apple plunged 6.4 percent, the most since January. Equities briefly pared losses as Apple trimmed its declines and data from the Institute for Supply Management showed manufacturing in the U.S. grew in November at a faster pace than projected.

Source : Bloomberg