Issue #360 - July 20, 2010
Talk to an Efutures market specialist! Call: 800-446-3887
Following up on last week's recommendation to buy the September Australian Dollar, the buy stop at 0.8590 was hit on Sunday night closing the position for an $1820 loss. For traders that are still in the trade, they should continue to stick with it with the same profit target of 0.9130. However, they should consider moving their stops up to just below Monday's session lows at 0.8576.
We not only accept individual, joint, corporate, partnership, LLC, and trust accounts. We also support Futures IRA and 401Ks accounts through Millennium Trust Company.
As you may know, we recently completed a transition to our new back office system, GMI on June 30, 2010. As a core component of our service to you, this upgrade provides a superior platform to support future products and provide enhanced services while adding efficiencies to our daily and monthly processing cycles. As a reminder, please take note of the following items of immediate impact to you:
If you have any questions or note any discrepancies, please call your broker immediately. Thank you for your patience during this transition.
Thank you for choosing Efutures,
Michelle Streich
Jul 21 - Jul Butter/Short Sterling
Jul 23 - Aug TOCOM Gasoline & Kerosene
Jul 26 - Jul TOCOM Rubber
Jul 27 - Jul Pork Bellies
Jul 28 - Jul Copper/NY Gold & Silver/NY Platinum & Palladium, Aug NY Nat Gas
Jul 21 - Jul NY Platinum/Short Sterling
Jul 23 - Aug 2yr,3yr,5yr,10yr Notes/Bonds/Corn/Long Gilt/Oats/Rice/Soybeans/Soymeal/Soyoil/Chi, KC, MN Wheat
Jul 27 - Aug Copper/NY Gold & Silver/NY Ht Oil, RBOB, Nat Gas
Contract Specifications & Margin Requirements
Tuesday, crude oil futures settled at their highest level since June 28th as US oil supply estimates and storm concerns provided support. September light, sweet crude futures settled 68 cents higher at $77.58 per barrel on the NYMEX. Analyst forecasts for another decline in US crude oil stockpiles in Wednesday's DOE weekly energy stocks report provided the energy market with early support. Additional support was seen as the National Hurricane Center upgraded a storm system in the Caribbean stating that there was now a 60% chance that the storm could turn into a tropical cyclone. Recently, traders have been monitoring this storm system as it heads west due to concerns that it could temporarily disrupt gas and oil supplies if it makes landfall in Texas or Louisiana. A late surge in equity prices was also noted to have helped hold crude futures in positive territory. For the time being, traders should keep an eye on Wednesday's energy report and the storm system currently moving west through the Caribbean for short-term direction in crude futures.
| Estimate (Week Ending July 16th) |
|
| Crude Oil | -1.3 mil bbl |
| Unleaded | +0.7 mil bbl |
| Distillate | +1.6 mil bbl |
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks closed higher Tuesday, recovering from steep losses earlier in the session, on optimism about quarterly earnings from Apple and speculation about possible moves by the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 75 points, or 0.7%, according to early tallies. The S&P 500 (SPX) index rose 12 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) composite gained 24 points, or 1%.
Concerns that the U.S. economy could dip back into recession later this year have kept the market range-bound since April. A dour report released Tuesday on initial construction of new homes in June added to the economic jitters.
"People are very concerned about growth in the second half," said Ryan Larson, head of U.S. equity trading at RBC Capital Markets. "That's going to be key to any rally coming out of earnings season."
Stocks ended Monday's session with gains, although economic worries tempered positive earnings results.
Economy: Housing starts fell to their lowest level of the year in June, down 5% to an annual rate of 549,000. But building permits showed surprising strength, climbing 2.1% to an annual rate of 586,000.
Separately, a monthly report from the Labor Department showed that unemployment eased in more than half of U.S. states in June.
World markets: European shares ended lower. The FTSE 100 in Britain lost 0.2%, France's CAC 40 slid 0.5% and Germany's DAX fell 0.7%.
Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite rallied 2.2% but Japan's Nikkei tumbled 1.2%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.9%.
Dollar and commodities: The dollar was up against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.
Bonds: Treasury prices rose, pushing the yield on the 10-year note down to 2.93% from 2.96% late Monday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Soybeans rallied late on support from crude oil and talk of demand. The market was lower for much of the session on favorable weather and improved crop ratings, but climbed late after crude oil rallied close to $78. Also speculative funds continue to buy beans. Basis has remained relatively strong for soybeans and demand has been solid. The favorable weather is less bearish for soybeans than it is corn because soybeans are planted later and have a longer time before the crop is made. November beans have a trading range of $9.55 to $9.85 through next week's crop progress which looks to show improvement.
An improving crop outlook and profit taking sent corn futures lower for a second straight day. Corn traded lower all day and held at support of $3.86 but failed to rally even when soybeans rallied late in the session. Weather is the main factor for corn right now. Forecasts call for rain through the central and northern Corn Belt. The 6 to 10 day forecast also looked cooler in some areas, which would be ideal for the crop. Monday's USDA crop progress report lowered the portion of the crop rated good to excellent to 72% but this is above the 10 year average of 65%. Funds sold an estimated 8,000 contracts. December corn has support at $3.86 then $3.80. Below $3.78½ on December could bring the bears back with some technical selling.
Wheat futures ended lower Tuesday under pressure from a stronger dollar, weaker corn and continued profit-taking. After climbing to 13-month highs last week, the market lacks fresh bullish inputs. While some bulls have speculated that the drought in Russia could ultimately lead that country to halt exports, which would benefit the U.S., however, today traders said Russia had sold 120,000 metric tons of wheat to Egypt. A stronger dollar added to the day's negative tone. The market is down 20 cents after trading to a 6 month high on Thursday.
Gold futures settled higher on Tuesday as some traders viewed the recent pullback as a buying opportunity. August Comex gold futures settled $9.80 higher at $1191.70 on the NYMEX. In the two previous sessions, the yellow metal had fallen to its lowest levels since May as investors traded in their safe haven assets for riskier commodities and equities amid a seemingly stabilizing US economy. However, some traders looked at this selloff as an opportunity to buy gold at more favorable levels pushing the futures back above the $1190 level on the belief that it will hold its value better than other assets. Additional support was seen as investors were faced with a set of mixed monthly reports as housing starts showed a larger than expected 5% decline while building permits showed a larger than expected 2.1% increase. Traders should keep an eye on gold's closing prices for the next few sessions as any close below $1175 could signal for a move back to the $1150 level.
What separates a great farmer from an average farmer?
According to Ed Usset at the University of Minnesota, 10 cents per bushel can take a farmer from average to great. Because the average farmer earns 20-30 cents per bushel for his crop, beating that average by 10 cents, is a huge improvement.
What can you do to get an extra 10 cents? When used properly, Put Options and Pre-Harvest Forward Contracting have worked well. While there is no guarantee that these strategies will work in the future, Put Options and Pre-Harvest Forward Contracting have allowed farmers to take advantage of the seasonality in the grain markets. If you would like to research further, view our Six Step Plan Track Record and an Iowa State University study.
Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results. Because the risk of loss in trading can be substantial, carefully consider the inherent risks of such an investment in light of your financial condition.