The Federal Reserve’s “Operation Twist” program, announced after its September policy meeting Wednesday, failed to restore market confidence as major stock market indexes tumbled and commodities sank nearly across the board. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 391 points Thursday after losing 284 points on Wednesday. Gold fell more than$ 66 an ounce and [...]

Our Account Specialist Joe Vaclavik shares his outlook for grains from the CME Group trading floor. He said there are a lot of issues “pushing and pulling at corn” in both directions. Hear more in the clip below. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors

Market participants trade CME Group Federal Funds futures to speculate on changes in Fed policy.  This market is pricing in no changes  in the Fed’s zero-rate target at the conclusion of the September meeting, and no changes in 2012 either. Although the market is continually updating these odds as data and economic conditions warrant, currently, [...]

by Michael Sabo Agricultural markets can offer some interesting opportunities for a trader during growing season, and this year has been no exception. Going back to July 2010, corn was trading around $4.20 a bushel. Since that time, this market has been in a bullish trend, as less-than-ideal growing conditions have created concerns yields won’t [...]

Gold has fallen back from its all-time highs, trading down $31 an ounce at $1,784 in mid-morning action.   According to CFTC data released Friday, September 16, speculators were exiting bullish precious metals positions across the board, and gold’s price has reflected this turn. Gold is down about 3.5 percent for the month of September. Our [...]

by Tim Merrill Gold is considered to be a safe haven investment, but trading gold is often not for the feint of heart. The swings in this market can test the emotions of any trader, and cause ill-advised decisions based on your perspiration levels. “Safe haven” is a term that the media seems to frequently [...]

Gold futures are lower in early trade, down more than $20 an ounce, as the U.S. dollar strengthened. Our Senior Market Strategist Phil Streible said gold could head to $1,800 in the near-term as investors are taking profits after the metal’s recent run, and other assets, including stocks, are selling off. He said he’s still [...]

by Jeff Friedman The volatility in the markets over the past couple months has been overwhelming, and it’s due to global uncertainty. It’s not clear exactly where the U.S. economy is headed (recession or no recession), we still have a divided Congress, and Federal Reserve policymakers are likewise divided on what course of action to [...]

by Tom Power Gold continues to move higher, reaching another record high above $1,900 an ounce Tuesday, September 6, after the Labor Day holiday break. In the past four months, gold has rallied more than $450 an ounce. While many investors and traders are reluctant to jump in and purchase gold at these levels, I [...]

Our Senior Market Strategist Phil Streible talks about the recent volatility in gold in an interview with The Street television. He said the volatility is likely to continue in the next few weeks as expectations are running high for an interest rate cut out of Europe, as well as more quantitative easing (QE3) in the [...]