US stocks opened lower on the open today but continued to edge higher throughout the day, struggling to break above Friday’s close. The dollar edged higher back to 107 after the comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller over the weekend, stating that policymakers still had ways to go before curtailing the interest rate hikes. The 10yr US Treasury yield remained unchanged at 3.90%. US homebuilder sentiment continued to fall, extending a record slide in October while also hitting the lowest level since the start of the pandemic, as the housing market continues to deteriorate under the weight of higher interest rates. Likewise, residential starts decreased by 8.1% at an annualised rate in October. Elsewhere, Chinese stocks listed in the US continued to gain pace for the third day straight, supported by the meeting between two presidents in Indonesia.
The metals market was mixed today, driven in large by industry-specific news. Nickel jumped higher by $4,000/t, marking its 15% daily limit, before reversing those gains back to close at $28,840/t on the back of the unconfirmed report suggesting a blast at a small nickel pig iron plant in Indonesia. Aluminium fluctuated but still settled lower at $2,452.50/t after the LME decided against the ban on Russian material, easing the risk of supply shortages. Copper also softened, with another leg lower seen in the latter part of the day to settle at $8,375/t. On-warrant copper stockpiles jumped by 23,175 to 62,200, the biggest rise since June 2021, creating downside pressures for prices. Lead and zinc both closed higher at $2,190/t and $3,151.50/t, respectively.
Oil futures softened in the second half of the day after the Fed official’s comment reignited slowdown concerns; WTI and Brent now trade at $87/bl and $94/bl. Precious metals wavered on the back of a higher dollar today, with gold and silver remaining unchanged at $1,768/oz and $21.80/oz, respectively.
All price data is from 14.11.2022 as of 17:30