Connect with us

Markets

Bonds Rise With Emerging Markets After Trump Selloff; Oil Surges

Published

on

Emerging Markets
  • Bonds Rise With Emerging Markets After Trump Selloff; Oil Surges

The fallout from Donald Trump’s election to the U.S. presidency eased off in financial markets with Treasuries and emerging markets halting their slide. Stocks jumped with crude.

Treasury 10-year note yields fell from this year’s high and Italy’s bonds outperformed German bunds, which investors tend to favor in times of turmoil. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to a record and shares in developing nations rallied after a four-day slump. The dollar advanced to a five-month high against the yen, and Mexico’s peso led gains among major currencies. Oil surged the most in seven months as OPEC members were said to be making a final diplomatic push toward securing a deal to cut output.

Trump’s election victory, which came with pledges to cut taxes, spend more than $500 billion on infrastructure and restrict imports, triggered a record selloff in global bonds as traders assessed the implication for inflation and interest rates. Some, including Fidelity Investments’ Ford O’Neil, have already expressed skepticism that Trump’s proposals will be fully backed by Congress, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. last week said the rally in iron and copper was “too much, too fast.”

“Many people were surprised by the market reaction to the election, but now portfolio managers are starting to focus more on where potential investment opportunities may be with a Trump administration,” said Ross Yarrow, director of U.S. Equities at Robert W. Baird & Co. in London. There has been “lots of chatter of fiscal stimulus and tax reform, but there are still a lot of moving parts and no firm details.”

Bonds

The yield on benchmark Treasury 10-year notes dropped three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 2.23 percent as of 4 p.m. New York time. The 41 basis-point jump over the last three trading sessions marked the steepest climb in more than seven years and the 14-day relative strength index for the securities indicated they were the most oversold since 1990, a potential signal that they may be set for a reversal.

O’Neil, who oversees about $100 billion in bonds for Fidelity Investments, said the sharp run-up in yields following the election may not be justified given that Trump will face resistance from Congress in getting his fiscal stimulus plans approved.

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker said Monday that easier fiscal policy may require higher rates, but it’s too early for the central bank to react to potential policy changes by the incoming administration.

Italy’s 10-year yield slid 12 basis points to 1.96 percent, after rising for five consecutive days, and that on Spanish securities with a similar due date dropped to 1.45 percent, from as high as 1.66 percent on Monday. German bund yields were little changed at 0.31 percent, as a report showed growth in Europe’s biggest economy slowed to the weakest pace in a year last quarter.

Indian bonds rallied on expectations liquidity will improve in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise Nov. 8 crackdown on unaccounted wealth through the withdrawal of high denomination bills. Japan’s 10-year bond yield increased to zero, having been negative for almost eight weeks, as a gauge of demand weakened at a sale of five-year securities on Tuesday.

Currencies

A broad index of the greenback fluctuated after a four-day rally, its longest in a month, as U.S. retail sales figures were stronger than forecast, while Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said the central bank would tighten monetary policy faster with more fiscal stimulus. The president-elect’s proposals to increase spending and cut taxes are fueling bets economic growth will accelerate and push the Fed to raise interest rates.

“The dollar is potentially going to go a lot higher still, if we do go down the route of extra fiscal stimulus,” which would also result in higher interest rates, Jeremy Hale, head of global macro strategy and asset allocation at Citigroup Inc., said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “That mixture of growth stimulus through the fiscal side and tighter monetary policy can be very powerful for the currency.”

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against 10 major peers, lost 0.1 percent. It surged 2.8 percent last week, the most since 2011, and on Monday erased its losses for this year. The greenback rose 0.8 percent to 109.23 yen.

The pound fell for a second day versus the dollar as a report showed U.K. inflation unexpectedly slowed in October. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney told lawmakers that sterling weakness was due to the outlook for slower growth.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index rose 0.4 percent as Mexico’s peso and South Africa’s rand rallied more than 1.8 percent. China’s yuan slipped to its weakest level since 2008.

Commodities

Iron ore slid 9 percent in Singapore, extending the last session’s retreat from a two-year high. The price soared by a record 27 percent last week, driven by speculative interest in China and optimism Trump’s policies will boost steel demand. Goldman Sachs said Friday that iron ore’s reaction to the Trump win was excessive, while Capital Economics Ltd. warned prices will face growing pressure from rising supply.

Copper pulled back from near a one-year high, while gold rebounded from a five-month low. It slid 4.4 percent over the last three days as the dollar strengthened.

Crude oil rose 5.8 percent to $45.81 a barrel in New York. Qatar, Algeria and Venezuela are leading the effort to finalize a deal, a delegate familiar with the talks said.

Stocks

The S&P 500 Index rose 0.8 percent to 2,180.39, after edging lower Monday for a second straight decline. The Dow Average advanced for a seventh straight day, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 1.1 percent.

As central bankers look for signs of stronger growth, a report today showed sales at retailers rose more than forecast last month in a broad advance after an even stronger September than initially estimated, marking the biggest back-to-back increase since 2014. A separate reading on November manufacturing in the New York region unexpectedly rose.

“The retail sales data showed broad-based gains rather than just narrowly focused on home improvement and autos. That’s heartening,” said Brian Jacobsen, the chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management LLC, which oversees $242 billion. “This is another data release that if the Fed had in hand when it met at the beginning of November, it probably would have hiked. The economic data isn’t likely going to derail this Trump-bump in the market. It could be handed off to a Santa Claus Rally.”

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.3 percent. It has swung between intraday gains and losses for six sessions, matching a streak last seen in August, and has struggled to break out of a trading range of about 20 points since July.

Is the CEO/Founder of Investors King Limited. A proven foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Businessinsider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and many more. He has over two decades of experience in global financial markets.

Continue Reading
Comments

Crude Oil

Dangote Mega Refinery in Nigeria Seeks Millions of Barrels of US Crude Amid Output Challenges

Published

on

Dangote Refinery

The Dangote Mega Refinery, situated near Lagos, Nigeria, is embarking on an ambitious plan to procure millions of barrels of US crude over the next year.

The refinery, established by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest individual, has issued a term tender for the purchase of 2 million barrels a month of West Texas Intermediate Midland crude for a duration of 12 months, commencing in July.

This development revealed through a document obtained by Bloomberg, represents a shift in strategy for the refinery, which has opted for US oil imports due to constraints in the availability and reliability of Nigerian crude.

Elitsa Georgieva, Executive Director at Citac, an energy consultancy specializing in the African downstream sector, emphasized the allure of US crude for Dangote’s refinery.

Georgieva highlighted the challenges associated with sourcing Nigerian crude, including insufficient supply, unreliability, and sometimes unavailability.

In contrast, US WTI offers reliability, availability, and competitive pricing, making it an attractive option for Dangote.

Nigeria’s struggles to meet its OPEC+ quota and sustain its crude production capacity have been ongoing for at least a year.

Despite an estimated production capacity of 2.6 million barrels a day, the country only managed to pump about 1.45 million barrels a day of crude and liquids in April.

Factors contributing to this decline include crude theft, aging oil pipelines, low investment, and divestments by oil majors operating in Nigeria.

To address the challenge of local supply for the Dangote refinery, Nigeria’s upstream regulators have proposed new draft rules compelling oil producers to prioritize selling crude to domestic refineries.

This regulatory move aims to ensure sufficient local supply to support the operations of the 650,000 barrel-a-day Dangote refinery.

Operating at about half capacity presently, the Dangote refinery has capitalized on the opportunity to secure cheaper US oil imports to fulfill up to a third of its feedstock requirements.

Since the beginning of the year, the refinery has been receiving monthly shipments of about 2 million barrels of WTI Midland from the United States.

Continue Reading

Crude Oil

Oil Prices Hold Steady as U.S. Demand Signals Strengthening

Published

on

Crude Oil - Investors King

Oil prices maintained a steady stance in the global market as signals of strengthening demand in the United States provided support amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian oil is priced, holds at $82.79 per barrel, a marginal increase of 4 cents or 0.05%.

Similarly, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude saw a slight uptick of 4 cents to $78.67 per barrel.

The stability in oil prices came in the wake of favorable data indicating a potential surge in demand from the U.S. market.

An analysis by MUFG analysts Ehsan Khoman and Soojin Kim pointed to a broader risk-on sentiment spurred by signs of receding inflationary pressures in the U.S., suggesting the possibility of a more accommodative monetary policy by the Federal Reserve.

This prospect could alleviate the strength of the dollar and render oil more affordable for holders of other currencies, consequently bolstering demand.

Despite a brief dip on Wednesday, when Brent crude touched an intra-day low of $81.05 per barrel, the commodity rebounded, indicating underlying market resilience.

This bounce-back was attributed to a notable decline in U.S. crude oil inventories, gasoline, and distillates.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a reduction of 2.5 million barrels in crude inventories to 457 million barrels for the week ending May 10, surpassing analysts’ consensus forecast of 543,000 barrels.

John Evans, an analyst at PVM, underscored the significance of increased refinery activity, which contributed to the decline in inventories and hinted at heightened demand.

This development sparked a turnaround in price dynamics, with earlier losses being nullified by a surge in buying activity that wiped out all declines.

Moreover, U.S. consumer price data for April revealed a less-than-expected increase, aligning with market expectations of a potential interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September.

The prospect of monetary easing further buoyed market sentiment, contributing to the stability of oil prices.

However, amidst these market dynamics, geopolitical tensions persisted in the Middle East, particularly between Israel and Palestinian factions. Israeli military operations in Gaza remained ongoing, with ceasefire negotiations reaching a stalemate mediated by Qatar and Egypt.

The situation underscored the potential for geopolitical flare-ups to impact oil market sentiment.

Continue Reading

Crude Oil

Shell’s Bonga Field Hits Record High Production of 138,000 Barrels per Day in 2023

Published

on

oil field

Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) has achieved a significant milestone as its Bonga field, Nigeria’s first deep-water development, hit a record high production of 138,000 barrels per day in 2023.

This represents a substantial increase when compared to 101,000 barrels per day produced in the previous year.

The improvement in production is attributed to various factors, including the drilling of new wells, reservoir optimization, enhanced facility management, and overall asset management strategies.

Elohor Aiboni, Managing Director of SNEPCo, expressed pride in Bonga’s performance, stating that the increased production underscores the commitment of the company’s staff and its continuous efforts to enhance production processes and maintenance.

Aiboni also acknowledged the support of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and SNEPCo’s co-venture partners, including TotalEnergies Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Agip Exploration, and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited.

The Bonga field, which commenced production in November 2005, operates through the Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, with a capacity of 225,000 barrels per day.

Located 120 kilometers offshore, the FPSO has been a key contributor to Nigeria’s oil production since its inception.

Last year, the Bonga FPSO reached a significant milestone by exporting its 1-billionth barrel of oil, further cementing its position as a vital asset in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

Continue Reading
Advertisement




Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending