US stocks whipsawed today as some dip-driving saw equities edge higher. The dollar rose to the five-year high of 103.18; meanwhile, 10yr US Treasury yield settled at 2.79%. Elsewhere, the euro hit the 2017 lows against the dollar following the escalating energy crisis. Indeed, Russia halted gas shipments to Bulgaria and Poland, whose deadline for paying in rubles has expired recently. This puts into question whether Russia will follow a similar strategy in relation to other major economies in the bloc as their deadlines approach in May. The US pending home sales declined for the fifth straight month as rising borrowing costs put pressure on potential home buyers.
LME metals fluctuated today, with upside momentum supported by Xi Jinping’s statement to spur infrastructure spending. Aluminium caught a bid in the first half of the day, but resistance around $3,120/t caused the metal to close lower at $3,093.50/t; cash to 3-month tightened into -$12.80/t. Likewise, nickel managed to gain marginal ground, and the metal closed at $33,300/t. Lead and zinc performance diverged, as they closed at $2,281.50/t and $4,219.50/t, respectively. Copper fluctuated but overall closed lower on the day at $9,856/t. Overall, the momentum remains on the back foot as China’s lockdown conditions show no signs of country-wide easing in the near term. Indeed, despite Shanghai hinting at possible restriction easing for those regions with little to no cases, the city’s port congestion continues to deteriorate. Container wait times nearly tripled to 12.1 days in the last four weeks, causing the country’s port activity to fall below the lows seen during the first outbreak in 2020.
Oil futures followed the trend of heightened volatility, as both WTI and Brent whipsawed to trade at $101.10/bl and $104.65/bl. Precious metals softened, with gold and silver falling to $1,885/oz and $23.36/oz, respectively.
For more in-depth analysis of base and precious metals, please see our Quarterly Metals report.
All price data is from 27.04.2022 as of 17:30
