Base Metals and Minerals

The US dollar soared on Friday, sending oil and all commodities crashing, and the Dow up 300 points.

The Dow fell 224 last night as several component stocks were hit with various pieces of bad news.

Freddie Mac posted a loss three times bigger than expected last night, and the Dow closed up 40.

Barclays Capital says China is unlikely to experience any great post-Olympic commodity hangover as domestic demand remains strong and growth projects will continue.

Danske Bank sees recent weakness in commodity prices as a correction driven by lower oil, but fundamentals still support a bull market.

The Dow fell 42 points following big falls in commodity prices including oil, metals and gold.

Weak economic data from Europe, the UK and China added to US woes on Friday despite a slightly better than expected jobs number. The Dow fell 51.

A weaker than expected GDP set the tone but half last night’s 200 point fall occurred in the last half hour on end-of-month scrambling.

Oil jumped over US$4 last night but the Dow rallied 186. You don’t see that every day.

The magic price is 22 cents in the dollar, enough to send the Dow up 266 aided by another US$2 fall in oil.