Commodities News

By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - BP said it had agreed to sell its stake in Argentina-based oil and gas group Pan American Energy (PAE) to Bridas Corp, half-owned by China's CNOOC, for $7 billion, as it raises cash to pay for the Gulf oil spill. The planned sale of the 60 percent interest, which sources previously said was under discussion and which was for a price in line with analysts' estimates, brings to $21 billion the amount that BP has raised, or agreed sales on, in recent months. BP has said it expects the costs of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill -- the United States' worst ever -- to hit $40 billion and said it would sell assets worth $25-$30 billion by the end of next year to pay for it. Bridas already owns a 40 percent stake in Pan American Energy, which BP said was Argentina's second-largest producer of oil and gas. Bridas was owned entirely by the family of Argentine tycoon...

A continuation pattern has formed on the silver charts setting up a breakout play to the upside. The 4-hour chart displays a triangle chart pattern with the ascending leg beginning on the 3rd of November and the descending leg beginning at the all-time price high of silver at $29.34. Traders should be anticipating a breakout to the upside as this trade would be in line with the direction of the long term trend. However, a breakout lower is also viable but less likely. To find the expected move following a breakout the base of the triangle is measured. Therefore, we can anticipate a potential move higher of $5 with an approximate target at $32.50. Patience will be needed as traders should wait for a definitive signal that silver has moved outside of the triangle chart pattern. A protective stop should be placed inside the triangle to guard against a potential false breakout. The stop can be located below the support at the price of $27...

We’ve been watching the price of precious metals soar over the past several months and many analysts will tell you to expect a continuation of this trend. We must not forget that global economies are still suffering financial concerns and that normalcy remains elusive to the current state of the world economy. In such an environment, safe haven investments – like Gold and Silver – tend to rise. But to short-term, intraday traders there is yet another side to this story. While it is true that Gold and Silver are on the rise, and will likely remain so for some time, it is also true that every trading instrument moves in cyclical patterns. Gold and Silver each possess a number of technical indicators which point to a buildup of bearish pressure. This is clearest on the Gold weekly chart (see below). A pattern has emerged on the price of Gold which is worth exploring in greater detail. Stay tuned this week for a...

Markets were quiet this morning during the European session as Ireland is in the midst of talks with the EU and the IMF. This follows yesterday’s gains in the dollar and pullbacks in equities and commodities. Talks began this morning between Ireland and delegations from the EU and the IMF. The discussions surround a potential bailout for Irish banks that are teetering on the edge of insolvency and could push the Irish government into default. An aid package is expected to be pieced together to prevent a default by the banks or by Ireland. Despite the bailout talks, the EUR has seen little support as the EUR/USD is trading lower at 1.3490. Yesterday the EUR/USD lost almost 1% and closed at the 1.3505 level for the first time since September. Equities were also down sharply with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 1.59%. Spot crude oil plunged 2.6%. During the upcoming New York trading session traders will be eyeing the Irish bailout talks...

Energy and precious metals lower following Asian and European stocks, the same goes for most soft commodities, though both coffee and sugar are slightly higher over the past 24 hours. If the EU situation deteriorates we could quickly see a recovery in precious metals, which rallied during the last EU crisis in the spring. Note that precious metals are inflation hedges, and both China and the UK are seeing evidence of rising inflation, and rising US bond yields suggest US bond traders see it coming as well. DISCLOSURE & DISCLAIMER: NO POSITIONS, THE ABOVE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS SPECIFIC TRADING ADVICE. RESPONSIBILITY FOR TRADE DECISIONS IS SOLELY WITH THE READER

By Aaron Pressman BOSTON (Reuters) - Even as gold was approaching record highs during the third quarter, more of the best-known hedge fund managers were placing bets on the precious metal. Former Goldman Sachs trader Chris Shumway's fund added 2.1 million shares of the SPDR Gold Trust GLD.P and Dan Loeb's Third Point LLC bought 115,000 shares during the third quarter, according to securities filings on Monday. Highfields Capital added call options on 1.6 million shares of the gold ETF and calls on 200,000 shares of the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF GDX.P At the same time, some of the early hedge fund gold pioneers were trimming their stakes. George Soros sold over half of one million shares of the gold ETF to finish the quarter with 4.7 million shares, while Eric Mindich reduced his Eton Park Capital's stake by 2 million shares to 4.6 million. John Paulson maintained a 31.5 million share holding of the ETF through the quarter. Soros has said several times...

LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Gold was steady on Tuesday, its advance capped by a strong dollar as concerns about spiralling sovereign debt stemming from Ireland undermined the euro, while a margin hike at CME also tarnished sentiment. PRICES * Spot gold

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold powered to another record above $1,398 an ounce on Monday after a decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve to resume buying government bonds stoked inflation fears. Here are key dates in gold's trading history since the early 1970s: August 1971 - U.S. President Richard Nixon takes the dollar off the gold standard, which had been in place with minor modifications since the 1944 Bretton Woods agreement fixed the conversion rate for one troy ounce of gold at $35.  August 1972 - The United States devalues the dollar to $38 per ounce of gold.  March 1973 - Most major countries adopt floating exchange rate system.  May 1973 - U.S. devalues dollar to $42.22 per ounce.  January 1980 - Gold hits record high at $850 per ounce. High inflation because of strong oil prices, Soviet intervention in Afghanistan and the impact of the Iranian revolution prompt investors to move into the metal.  August 1999 - Gold falls to a low at $251.70 on worries about...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Leading economies should consider readopting a modified global gold standard to guide currency movements, said World Bank president Robert Zoellick. Writing in the Financial Times, Zoellick said a "Bretton Woods II" system of floating currencies is needed to replace the Bretton Woods fixed-exchange rate regime that broke down in the early 1970s. Zoellick called for a system that "is likely to need to involve the dollar, the euro, the yen, the pound and (yuan) that moves toward internationalization and then an open capital account." He added: "The system should also consider employing gold as an international reference point of market expectations about inflation, deflation and future currency values." Gold hit to a record high at $1,398.35 an ounce in early trade on Monday on concerns of a continued weakening dollar trend after the U.S. Federal Reserve last week acted to resume buying Treasurys. "The dollar is losing its relevance especially with the emergence of Asia economies, so a more neutral benchmark may...

By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - BP lifted its estimate of the likely cost of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill to $40 billion on Tuesday, denting profits, but its underlying performance beat all expectations on higher refining margins and a lower tax rate. BP, the world's biggest non-government controlled oil company by production last year, said delays in capping its blown-out well prompted the increased charge for ending the leak, cleaning up the damage and compensating those affected. The charge, up by $7.7 billion, pushed third-quarter replacement cost profit, which strips out unrealized gains or losses related to changes in the value of fuel inventories, down 63 percent to $1.8 billion. Stripping out one-offs, including the oil spill costs, the underlying results rose 18 percent, compared to the same period in 2009, to $5.53 billion, well ahead of an average forecast $4.60 billion from a Reuters poll of seven analysts. Underlying net result was boosted by a drop in BP's effective tax rate to...