US stocks opened higher following a release of upbeat earnings statements. Equities continue to stay resilient to rising Treasury yields, which continue to climb higher. Indeed, the 10yr US Treasury yield tested near 3.00% once again; the dollar remained above 100. US initial jobless claims fell by 2,000 in the week ending April 16, while the continuing claims fell to 1.42m in the week ending April 9, which is the lowest level since 1970. Philadelphia Fed factory survey underscored the persistent building of inflationary pressures, as two-thirds of the manufacturers are planning to increase wages more than originally planned this year. The IMF panel begins today where the ECB’s Lagarde and the Fed’s Powell are set to discuss their thinking on inflation and monetary policy outlook.
The LME trading was mostly range-bound today, only with tin and lead closing lower at $42,860/t and $2,401.50/t, respectively. Aluminium continued to this week’s range of $3,225/t and $3,315/t as the metal closed at $3,298/t. Likewise, copper edged higher, testing resistance of $10,345/t before closing at $10,285/t. SHFE copper outperformed so far in April, and the metal continued to trade higher, closing at $11,607/mt. Anglo American cuts its production guidance for iron ore, platinum and coal, stating that costs would be 9% higher than expected this year; the iron ore target has been dropped to 60-64m tonnes. Iron ore futures found support $151/mt.
Oil futures gained ground following a volatile section amid rising supply concerns. WTI and Brent strengthened into $104.04/bl and $108.36/bl. Precious metals were all on the back foot today following the correction in bond market, with gold and silver easing into $1,939/oz and $24.50/oz, respectively.
For more in-depth analysis of base and precious metals, please see our Quarterly Metals report.
All price data is from 21.04.2022 as of 17:30
