Base Metals and Minerals

Wall Street range traded last night as oil and wheat posted record highs and the dollar fell to an all time low against the euro. The I-word is back.

The Dow put on 180 points last night as Bernanke said nothing in Europe, the US dollar weakened, gold surged, and oil hit an all time high.

Wall Street was unsure just what clues were provided by various Fed statements last night, while a Japanese recession looks more clear.

The market was expecting payrolls to rise by 110,000 in August. The real number came as a big shock.

Merrill Lynch has made its latest round of commodity price upgrades with some significant movements, while Paladin’s Borshoff tries to talk up the stock.

A rumour hit the market late yesterday that BHP and CVRD were looking to take out Rio, while Woodside has just initiated what may be an enormous LNG deal.

A big surge in the gold price saw Comex futures close over the magic US$700/oz level while Middle East tensions and low inventories sent oil ever higher. The Dow closed modestly higher.

The Dow was down 143 points last night in choppy trade. It seemed all news was bad news.

The first day back from holidays saw a tech-led rally on Wall Street while gold has broken resistance and shot higher.

Bernanke’s statement was well received by a market assuming a rate cut will soon be forthcoming. President Bush chimed in with some added relief for mortgage holders.