Stocks deepened their decline across the board as Treasury yields rallied on concerns that the Fed might have to hike interest rates sooner than expected. The 10yr US Treasury yield leapt above 1.80%, the pre-pandemic levels, and the dollar advanced. NY manufacturing gauge slipped in January on the back of a tumbling number of orders and shipments as omicron and supply chain headwinds prevailed; the index fell to -0.7, the lowest level since May 2020. Elsewhere, German investor confidence bounced back to the highest level since July 2021 in January in hopes of a strong recovery from the current COVID-19 wave.
Metals prices were mostly firmer today, except for lead and copper, which edged lower. Copper across all exchanges was lower today, but only marginally, the fears remain that softer demand, specifically in China, will plague the outlook; the metal closed at $9,676/t. Iron ore and steel prices have firmed off the back of supply-side woes for iron ore. Tin prices gained ground again to $42,292/t, with the spread still backwardated at $362/t and the closing price at $42,292/t. Nickel holds above $22,000/t, closing higher at $22,073/t. Aluminium closed above $3,000/t for the first time since October, at $3,024.50/t
Oil futures continued to climb higher, beating near-decade highs on the robust demand outlook. This sentiment has been confirmed by OPEC in its monthly report, suggesting further strength despite central bank tightening this year. In December, the OPEC’s members added 166,000 b/d in comparison to the promised 250,000. WTI and Brent now trade at $85.10/bl and $87.20/bl. Silver rallied to $23.46/oz, while gold was softer at $1,814.97/oz.
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All price data is from 18.01.2022 as of 17:30
