Despite expectations of a market reaction to the recent FOMC meeting, it was eventually a storm in a teacup as the market hadn’t reacted to the news. The FOMC kept policy unchanged. Gold and silver prices slightly declined on Wednesday. Crude oil prices on the other hand slightly rose. Natural gas future price changed direction again and sharply increased yesterday. Finally, the Euro edged up against the U.S. dollar; other currencies such as the Australian also appreciated vs. the USD.
Here is a summary of the developments in precious metals and energy commodities for April 25th, 2012:
Precious Metals:
Gold price slipped by 0.09% to $1,642.3; Silver price also declined by 1.27% and reached $30.43. During April, gold declined by 1.77% and silver by 6.34%.
The Euro/USD edged up again yesterday by 0.15% to 1.3217; furthermore, the U.S Dollar also depreciated against other exchange rates such as the Australian dollar.
Energy Commodities:
WTI oil price increased by 0.52% to $103.7 per barrel; Brent oil also rose by 0.64% to $119.18 per barrel;
Following these changes, the difference between Brent and WTI oil prices reached $15.48/bbl. During the month, WTI edged up by 0.66% and Brent oil declined by 3.7%.
The Henry Hub future (May delivery) sharply rose by 4.57% to $2.06/mmbtu; the Henry Hub spot price also edged up to $2.00/mmbtu; the gap between the spot and future was $0.06/mmbtu, i.e. Contango.
A Summary of Changes for April 25th:
The table below includes: closing prices, daily percent changes, and daily changes:
For further reading: