Amazing. For the first time in history, U.S. coal prices have rallied past $200 per ton. Although U.S. natural gas output is the highest on record, the energy industry will need to sustain its production efforts to ensure there is enough liquefied natural gas (LNG) to satisfy domestic and foreign demand. Until then, let’s hope […]
Money
Central banks were net buyers of gold, World Gold Council data show
Gold prices have tanked since March, driven by the Federal Reserve’s tightening crusade that has lifted the US dollar. Central banks took advantage of the discounts by adding more than 20 tons of gold to their reserves in August, according to the World Gold Council (WGC). The report found that three institutions drove the buying […]
Recession? Manufacturing PMI slips, construction spending falls
It was bad news for the U.S. economy on Monday, which turned out to be good news for the financial markets. The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) weakened to 50.9 in September, surprising everyone as economists anticipated a reading of 52.2. This is down from 52.8 in August. The monthly […]
Crude futures rally as OPEC could slash oil output by 1.5 million barrels a day on Wednesday
Crude oil futures are rallying on news that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, OPEC+, could slash production levels, according to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal. After last month’s decision to cut output by a tepid 100,000 barrels per day, new reports suggest that the world’s biggest 23-nation oil […]
LOL: Bank of England pauses quantitative tightening to bail out Truss, bond market
The Bank of England (BoE) became the first major central bank to pivot on its quantitative tightening cycle. Because the government bond market was decimated due to Prime Minister Liz Truss’ deficit-financed mini-budget, the central bank intervened and bailed out her Conservative government by purchasing 20- and 30-year bonds. This stopped the bleeding, but yields […]