Intemperate March 16 post: "Commodities: They Just Rang a Bell at the Top "ETF First From First Trust: Platinum, Copper Miner ETFs" (FCX; RTP; SCCO)"
Like drunken monkey, analyst swaggers on with "Is China on the verge of a commodities unwind?" (FCX; RTP; SCCO; PLTM)":
...Two days later platinum hit $1638 and copper $3.4048. Here's the 30-day platinum chart from Kitco:Mineweb:
Spot platinum is trading at $1581, down $24 today. Copper futures are at $332.65.
Copper hit a 19-month high on Tuesday, as a falling dollar and rising risk appetite boosted prices, with positive expectations for fund flows and metals demand going into the second quarter.Benchmark copper for three-month delivery CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange traded at $7,821 a tonne from $7,770 at the close on Monday.
Copper, used in power and construction, touched a high at $7,835 a tonne, as the euro hit a one-week high against the dollar on relief that debt-laden Greece was able to raise funds from the market. [USD/]
"The whole Greece situation has settled down a bit (and) risk appetite has picked up on the back of that," said Dan Smith, an analyst at Standard Chartered. "There is a lot of volatility surrounding the end of quarter -- the next few weeks will be tough to call.
"Everyone is anticipating new money coming from the funds but we don't know how much it is going to be." A weak U.S. currency makes metals priced in dollars less
expensive for holders of other currencies....
Auspicious update, below.
Stocks closed generally mournful and reflective.
Currency devaluation reflects silently on still and glassy water.
Mindfulness overrated
If you missed it, the Sakura festivals have passed Tokyo on their way north, Kanazawa and Nigata today.
The D.C. blossoms will be prime April 1-4 according to the Washington Post's Breaking News blog.
