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The top story on financial television Thursday morning was that Denmark and its allies sent troops to Greenland to confront a common enemy: the United States.
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Meanwhile, crude oil cooled a bit based on the US President’s latest social media post.
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Gold hit a new all-time high on Wednesday, while silver extended its rally into a new market overnight into early Thursday.
Morning Recap: Steve Sedgwick, host of CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe, started today’s segment by saying he had to read the “craziest headline”: Denmark and its allies sending troops to Greenland. He was absolutely right. NATO members still considered themselves allies against a common enemy: the United States. This after a meeting between the US administration, Denmark and Greenland reportedly did not go well on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Cash Gold Index (GCY00) hit a new high of $4,642.74 yesterday, up $56 (1.2%) before retreating to the close and seeing tracking pressure overnight. Similarly, the Cash Silver Index (SIY00) recorded a new high of $93.52 overnight, but at the time of writing has fallen back into the red of $3.47 (3.7%). Energies were in the red across the board with only the spot month-to-month natural gas contract showing in the green after falling 10% yesterday. Finally, the US Dollar Index ($DXY) was slightly firmer at the start of the day. The common theme is what it has been for the past decade: global markets and governments continue to have to adapt to the loss of the United States as a stabilizing force. As we can see from the long-term trends of the dollar and gold, the United States is considered an unstable factor.
Corn: The corn market rose quietly early Thursday morning. The March issue posted a trading range of 1.75 cents, all above unchanged, and was 1.75 cents higher, one point below its session high, while recording 15,000 contracts changing hands. Recall that March closed yesterday at $4.22, an increase of 2.25 cents on the day, indicating that Watson had begun the new positioning week with a buying mood. The previous week, Tuesday to Tuesday, March closed with a drop of 24.25 cents, due to the drop after last Monday’s report of 24.75 cents. The question is whether the net long non-commercial futures position, last reported at 60,110 contracts, was cleared as of Tuesday’s close. Fundamentally, the corn market has become more bullish. In Wednesday’s deal, the March-May spread covered 37% of the total calculated trade carry, while the May-July spread covered 30%. This is likely a reflection of container doors closing following this week’s activity that put the National Corn Index ($CNCI) at $3.83, its lowest price since October 21. The index price settled Wednesday night at $3.86, up 2.75 cents on the day, meaning the national average base firmed. The latest estimate was 36.0 cents below March futures, compared to this week’s five-year low weekly close of 32.25 cents below March.
