The U.S. GDP experienced a modest increase of 1.6% in the first quarter, marking the slowest expansion in two years. This news prompted a downturn in U.S. stock markets. But should investors be concerned about this figure?

Ben Laidler, the Global Markets Strategist at eToro, appeared on Wealth! to shed light on the implications of the GDP data for investor portfolios.

Laidler commented, “The recent GDP figure isn’t ideal, yet it’s not as dire as it may seem. The core elements that matter to us—business investment and consumer spending—are holding strong. The observed softness is largely attributed to less critical factors, which are expected to rebound in the next quarter, specifically trade and inventory levels.

• While the inflation metric is slightly unsettling, it’s best to wait for the upcoming release of the monthly Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index. This will provide us with more clarity on the extent of our concerns regarding the current economic situation.”

Daily Levels for April 26th, 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.

What to look for the rest of the trading week:

By Mark O’Brien, Senior Broker

General:   

It’s not far fetched to state that there is anxiety in the marketplace.  Gold and silver prices have exploded – the former to all-time highs, the U.S. dollar has climbed the entire first quarter including a sharp ±200 point rise over the last two weeks and financial institutions worldwide are facing rising interest rate pressures.  Here in the U.S. last week’s hotter-than-expected March CPI and PPI reports reflected a growing economy straining to “tap the brakes.”

Moreover, in the Middle East tensions have reached their highest levels in decades as the region braces for potential Israeli retaliation after Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel over the weekend in response to an apparent Israeli strike on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed 12 people, including two Iranian generals.

Energies: 

Noteworthy for its downside move, natural gas has been contending with substantial inventories and muted demand for months and the front month May futures contract has now lost nearly half its value since November – from ±$3.300 down to $1.675 per MMBtu, a ±$16,000 per contract move for the standard 10,000 MMBtu contract.

Softs:  

The latest commodity futures contract to make a break for higher prices is coffee.  After trading within a ± 20-cent range between ±$1.80 and ±$2.00/pound all year, the last two weeks have seen a brake above $2.40/pound, roughly a $7,500 per contract move (each 1-cent move in coffee = $375), driven by fears of decreased output from Brazil and Vietnam, which are major producers in the coffee industry.

Metals:   

June gold is poised to set its latest all-time high closing price at the close of trading today, above $2,400 per ounce.  On Friday, it traded to an intraday high of $2,447.6 per ounce only to plummet $97.00 per ounce to an intraday low of $2,350.60 per ounce – a $9,700 move for the 100-oz. contract – in a span of ±4 hours!

Daily Levels for April 18th, 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.