Bullet Points, Highlights, Announcements  + Levels for April 24th

Bullet Points, Highlights, Announcements    

by Mark O’Brien, Senior Broker

General:  

Futures traders with positions in deliverable futures contracts keep an eye on the calendar for important dates at the end of the month. First Notice Day (FND) and Last Trading Day (LTD) for many futures contracts are close at hand. Make sure you steer safely clear of receiving delivery notices for physical commodities (FND), or greatly reduced liquidity (LTD). If you’re unsure, contact your Cannon Trading Co. broker.

The economic calendar for the rest of the week is scarce with Thursday’s Q1 GDP report taking center stage.

Prospects for a fed rate cut announcement at the Fed’s 4/30-5/1 meeting, as well as its mid-June meeting have all but evaporated and many Fed watchers expect the central bank to keep its “higher for longer” mantra in place for most and possibly all of 2024.

Worries over a wider Middle East conflict have subsided and traders are discounting the risk of further escalations. Case in point, June gold lost ±67 per ounce (±2%) yesterday after posting its latest all-time record high close of $2,413.80/ounce on Friday. Iran downplayed Israel’s retaliatory drone strike against it, in what appeared to be a move aimed at averting regional escalation.

Energies: 

• The ±$2.50/barrel selloff in May crude oil and the ±¢9.75/gallon May RBOB gasoline futures last week likely signaled the markets do not see an Iranian supply disruption in the near future, so the markets will be given to focusing on global energy demand going forward

Softs:  

May Cocoa futures declined sharply yesterday and today, down nearly $1,300/ton (a $13,000 per contract move) marking its worst two-day slump since February. This after a 3-day / Wed.-Fri. rally of $1,635/ton to its all-time record high close of 11,878/ton on Friday. ICE U.S. has set the initial margin requirement to $11,260 per contract.

Daily Levels for April 24th, 2024

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* This is not a solicitation of any order to buy or sell, but a current market view provided by Cannon Trading Inc. Any statement of facts here in contained are derived from sources believed to be reliable, but are not guaranteed as to accuracy, nor they purport to be complete. No responsibility is assumed with respect to any such statement or with respect to any expression of opinion herein contained. Readers are urged to exercise their own judgement in trading.