All’s Quiet Before the Fed Meets
Stock Index futures: Indexes in both Europe and the U.S. are little changed from yesterday’s close, as traders await what might be one of the most widely anticipated FOMC meetings in years. The slump in the U.S. housing market coupled with the recent liquidity crisis looks to have forced the Fed’s hand into lowering the Fed Funds rate by 25 basis points, according to survey of economists by Bloomberg News. However, the statement released after the rate announcement will be closely analyzed by the markets for any signs that further rate cuts are down the line, or if the Fed hopes to jawbone the market into believing it is ready to tackle further weakness in the economy if necessary without losing its grip on controlling inflation. In early trade, the December e-mini S&P 500 futures are trading at 1478.75, up 1.75.
Wheat: Chicago Wheat futures continue to rebound from last week’s sharp price correction after hitting all-time highs on Wednesday. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resources Economics lowered its estimate for the country’s Wheat production to 15.5 million metric tons – down sharply from its previous estimate of 22.5 million tons. Australia is the third largest Wheat exporter behind the U.S. and Canada. South Korea bought 47,700 metric tons of U.S. Wheat today, with Taiwan and Japan also expected to tender for U.S. Wheat this week. Both Pakistan and Turkey may each need to import up to 1 million metric tons of Wheat this season to help replenish stockpiles. At the end of the overnight session, December Wheat is trading at $8.87, up 12 cents.
Crude Oil: Lead month October Crude Oil rose above $81 per barrel in overnight trade, as traders anticipate another drawdown in U.S. Crude inventories last week with rising demand continuing to overwhelm supplies. In tomorrow’s EIA energy stocks report, traders are anticipating another 2 million barrel draw in Oil stocks, which will be the 10th drawdown in 11 weeks should it come to pass. In early trade, October Crude Oil is trading at $80.91, up $0.34.
Mike Zarembski, Senior Commodity Analyst
Economic Data Scheduled for Tuesday, September 18, 2007
(All times in U.S. Central Time)
U.S.
7:30 AM: PPI for August (Consensus -0.3%. Core 0.1%)
8:00 AM: Net Foreign Purchases for July (Prior 120.9 Billion)
1:15 PM: FOMC Policy Statement
