Following the vote in House of Representatives in which the $2.1 trillion US debt ceiling hike was approved, the US dollar soon followed and appreciated against major currencies mainly the Euro. Major commodities started August with falls as gold and silver prices moderately declined; crude oil prices also fell; natural gas spot price (Henry Hub) changed direction from last week and inclined.
Here is a summary of the price movements of precious metals and energy commodities for August 1st:
Precious Metals prices:
Gold price started off August in the red as it declined yesterday by 0.58% to $1,621. Silver price also declined on Monday by 1.99% to reach $39.31.
During July, gold prices increased by 8.5% and silver price by 15.1%.
The EURO/ USD sharply fell yesterday by 1.03%, as the USD appreciated against the EURO. During July the EURO/USD fell by 0.7% compared with the rate at the beginning of the month.
Oil and Gas prices:
WTI Spot oil price declined by 0.85% to $94.89 per barrel; during July the WTI spot oil price inclined by 0.4%.
Brent spot price also fell by 0.48% to $116.25 per barrel.
Due to these changes, the difference between Brent and WTI rose to $21.36/bbl.
Natural gas Henry Hub future price (September delivery) inclined by 1.21% to $4.19/mmbtu. The Henry Hub spot price also rose by 0.47% to $4.28/mmbtu; the gap between the spot and future price reached -$0.09, i.e. backwardation. During July, natural gas spot price (Henry Hub) declined by 0.5%.
A summary of yesterday’s Prices Changes:
The table below includes: closing prices, daily percent change, and change in US dollars (except for USD/CAD, in which the change is in Canadian dollars):
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