BetOnMarkets - Hurricane Ike missed

The FTSE currently indicates a very weak opening. The take over of Merrill Lynch is probably a contributing factor. Over the weekend yet another takeover has been orchestrated by the US government, where a top four investment bank, is now the property of Bank of America. Look for a small recovery when trading starts this morning, however we are probably going to spend the rest of day in the red.

Oil traders did not get the boost they were hoping for. As Hurricane Ike missed taking out the important oil fields and oil futures are now trading below 100 dollars per barrel. We are anticipating that the price of crude will keep falling, even as OPEC cuts productions by half a million barrels per day.

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BetOnMarkets Morning Report

The strong US dollar continues to cause havoc for the commodity sector. With gold now trading almost 300 dollars below its 52 week high, set in the spring. The main culprit for this sudden reversal is the strong US dollar, which has gained more then 15 cents versus the Euro. Look for the precious metals sector to continue to lose value as traders sell gold and invest in the all of a sudden strong US dollar.

BetOnMarkets

BetOnMarkets Morning Report

The FTSE is currently indicates a weaker opening as traders await the release of the UK trade balance numbers. While the weekend nationalization of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in the US gave the FTSE and every other equities index a boost on Monday, it was very short lived, as the FTSE finds itself exactly where it was last Friday. It seems like traders are not satisfied with the take over and are worried that nothing changed in the mortgage debt market.

Oil keeps taking in on the chin as it seems like every hurricane starts to weaken before hitting the important oil producing fields. Not helping is the stronger US dollar which keeps making the oil contracts cheaper.
It is possible that we can see prices below 100 dollars per barrel this month.

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BetOnMarkets Morning Report

The FTSE currently indicates a flat opening, as traders await the release of the UK Industrial and Manufacturing production numbers. While analysts expect flat growth for the month of July, we feel that the number is a little optimistic resulting in the market possibly opening lower this morning.

Oil prices are trading lower, as another hurricane is slated to miss the key oil producing fields. Adding to the lower oil price is the resurgence in the strength of the US dollar, which traded at an 11 month high versus the Euro. We might see the Euro trade as low as 1.35 per US dollar this month.

BetOnMarkets

BetOnMarkets Morning Report

The FTSE is currently indicating a lower opening although there is no UK economic data today, the FTSE will be influenced by the release of the US employment numbers. Analysts are expecting a loss of 75 thousand jobs, after studying the economic reports we believe, that number is too optimistic. If the employment data comes out soft, watch for the FTSE and all the other major stock exchanges to finish the day deep in the red.

Oil has continued its free fall and a lot of it can be credited to the latest wave of strong US dollar sentiment. With the GBP/USD now trading below 1.80 dollar mark, the US dollar has appreciated by more then 10% in the last 4 weeks. Traders will be analyzing today's employment data very carefully, to see if the recovery was warranted.

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