Commodity ETP Weekly Oil Rally Consolidates Conviction in Crude

Strongest weekly rally in four years drives inflows into long oil ETPs.
ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) reverses outflows from previous week.
Investors seeking leveraged exposure to gold drive inflows into ETFS Physical Silver (PHAG).
Bearish US inventory report stimulates inflows into long natural gas ETPs.

The gold price tumbled and crude rallied on Friday immediately following the release of strong US payrolls data which reflected the health of the US labour market and the continuing theme of divergence between the US and Eurozone economies. In Asia, after cutting the Reserve Requirement Ratio by 50bps the People’s Bank of China may be under pressure to take more significant easing measures if upcoming Chinese inflation, money and loan supply data prove disappointing. Industrial metal prices are likely to be key beneficiaries of any further stimulus measures that are announced by the Chinese authorities.

Strongest weekly rally in four years drives inflows into long oil ETPs. ETFS WTI Crude Oil (CRUD) and ETFS Brent (OILB) saw US$80m of inflows this week as crude prices experienced the largest weekly gain since 2011. Escalation of violence in Libya, strong US labour market data and fall in the US oil rig count have prompted a strong rally in oil prices despite the release of record high US crude inventory figures. Investors are positioning themselves to benefit from the current positive sentiment in oil markets and the potential recovery in crude prices over the year.

ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) reverses outflows from previous week. US$65mn flowed into PHAU this week as investors continued to seek a safe haven from the uncertain political and economic situation in Europe. The gold price swung between gains and losses this week ultimately ending the week down 0.7%. The gold price was pressured by news that the newly elected Greek government would not be demanding a write off of international debt contrary to market expectations.

Investors seeking leveraged exposure to gold drive inflows into ETFS Physical Silver (PHAG). US$20mn flowed into PHAG this week despite the price falling -2.5%. Silver has performed well this year climbing 6.4% YTD as deflationary price pressure from tumbling oil prices has instigated a series of rate cuts by central banks and quantitative easing (QE) by the ECB. The result has been increased demand for silver due to investors perceiving the metal as a leverage play on gold.

Bearish US inventory report stimulates inflows into long natural gas ETPs. Bargain hunting investors seeking a rebound in prices drove US$7.2mn of inflows into ETFS Daily Leveraged Natural Gas as the spot price reached two and a half year lows this week. The fall was instigated by a smaller than expected withdrawal from US natural gas storage reported by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Investors are betting that low gas prices will stimulate greater demand from industrial producers and electricity companies in coming months which should lead to a price recovery.

Key events to watch this week. Following the strong US payrolls reading on Friday market attention will turn towards Europe and Asia this week. On Wednesday, the Euro area finance ministers hold emergency meeting to discuss a sustainable solution to Greece’s bailout program. This will come before Eurozone Q4 2014 GDP data released on Friday. In China, release of the level of aggregate financing, new Yuan loans and money supply will give a good indication of the health of Chinese credit markets and provide signs as to whether the central bank will have to ease policy further.

Video Presentation

Josh Tiwana, Research Analyst at ETF Securities provides an analysis of last week’s performance, flow and trading activity in commodity exchange traded products and a look at the week ahead.

Important Information

This communication has been provided by ETF Securities (UK) Limited (”ETFS UK”) which is authorised and regulated by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority.