US stocks continued to fall following Monday’s downside momentum, as bonds weakened across the board. Meanwhile, US consumer confidence fell in November to a four-month low amid prevailing inflationary and interest rate pressures. The dollar remained at 106.50, and the 10yr US Treasury yield settled at 3.70%. Elsewhere, Eurozone’s inflation came in below the previous month’s highs, at 10.4% y/y in November, offering some respite for the ECB to slow down the pace of hikes. Still, the policymakers will watch out for the core level of inflation, which came in unchanged month-on-month at 5.0% y/y, to help gauge the scale of further hikes and, subsequently, the timing of the pivot.
Sentiment has improved marginally today following the news that Chinese officials vowed to speed up covid jabs for the elderly and avoid excessive restrictions. Whilst a welcoming sign, the move to accommodate the reopening measures has been marginal, and this was reflected in today’s sentiment. Aluminium continued to edge higher, but resistance at $2,400/t triggered the metal to settle lower at $2,379.50/t. Likewise, copper caught a big in the first half of the day but struggled to break above the $8,100/t level as it settled at $8,037.50/t. Nickel rallied, jumping by more than 5.0%, testing resistance at $27,000/t before settling at $26,861/t. Lead jumped higher to close at $2,134.50/t. Zinc closed lower at $2,934.50/t.
Oil futures rose ahead of the OPEC+ meeting, which may see further increases in production. WTI and Brent are now trading at $77/bl and $83/bl. Gold and silver wavered throughout the day but managed to settle higher at $1,750/oz and $21.30/oz, respectively.
All price data is from 29.11.2022 as of 17:30