Andy_Hecht

Andy_Hecht

Over the first half of 2022, energy was a bright spot in markets. NYMEX and Brent crude oil futures rose 40.62% and 40.24%, respectively. The oil futures closed well below the March highs on June 30, with prices north of $100 per barrel. NYMEX natural gas futures moved 45.42% higher over the first half of 2022. The price was at the $5.424 per MMBtu level on June...

Andy_Hecht

The trend is always our best friend in markets across all asset classes. While many investors and traders waste their time interpreting the new cycle and other factors, the path of least resistance of market prices is a real-time indicator of the current sentiment. Stocks and bonds fall in Q2 Four of six commodity sectors post losses Rising interest rates...

Andy_Hecht

The VIX index is the Chicago Board Option Exchange’s CBOE Volatility Index, a popular measure of the stock market’s expected price variance of S&P 500 stocks. The S&P 500 is the most diversified of the leading stock market indices. Higher base levels in the stock market’s volatility index A correlation with the bond market Markets across all asset classes...

Andy_Hecht

In 2021, as the US central bank and the Secretary of the Treasury continued to call rising inflation a “transitory” and pandemic-inspired event, the bond market declined. Bonds watched prices rise while the economists were pouring over stale data. Meanwhile, the Fed and government planted inflationary seeds that sprouted during the second half of 2020, bloomed in...

Andy_Hecht

The Memorial Day weekend is the start of the summer season. In many markets, seasonal factors can impact prices. The old saying, “sell in May and go away,” may not be applicable in the stock market as stocks have been on a rocky path lower in 2022. In commodities, gasoline, meats, grains, and other raw material prices often increase as demand peaks. Heating oil...

Andy_Hecht

Gold is hard cash, and the precious yellow metal has a long history dating back thousands of years. Dollars, euros, yen, pounds, yuan, rubles, and all currencies floating around in the global financial system are babies compared to gold, the hard asset that holds value and symbolizes wealth. Gold holds the $1800 level after making a new high The bullish...

Andy_Hecht

In early March, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the oil price soared to the highest levels since 2008. While the energy commodity did not reach a new record high, it came close. Nearby ICE Brent futures reached $139.13 per barrel, only $8.37 below the 2008 record peak. The NYMEX WTI futures moved to $130.50 per barrel, $16.77 below the 2008 high. $100 has become...

Andy_Hecht

Markets across all asset classes hate uncertainty because it causes traders, investors, and all market participants more than a bit of indigestion. Fear and greed are emotions that drive impulsive behaviors. Effective decision-making depends on a rational, logical, and reasonable approach to problem-solving. The Fed finally addresses inflation Recessionary...

Andy_Hecht

In May 2021, the nearby COMEX copper futures contract reached a record $4.8985 per pound. After a correction to just below the $4 level in August 2021, the red nonferrous metal made higher lows and higher highs, leading to another all-time peak at $5.01 per pound in early March 2022. Range trading gives way to a downside break Goldman Sachs believes higher...

Andy_Hecht

The US dollar and the euro are the world’s reserve currencies. Political and economic stability and free convertibility are the requirements for reserve currency status. Central banks and governments worldwide gold the US and European currencies as reserve assets. The exchange rate between the US dollar and the euro is multifactorial. Interest rate...

Andy_Hecht

Volatility in markets creates opportunity, but as risk is always a function of reward, the more the upside, the greater the potential for losses. Since natural gas futures began trading on the NYMEX in 1990, more than a few market participants have lost fortunes in the market that has traded as low as $1.02 and as high as $15.65 per MMBtu. Over five times...

Andy_Hecht

The soft commodities sector of the commodity market can be highly volatile. Historically, sugar, coffee, cotton, cocoa, and frozen concentrated orange juice futures that trade on the Intercontinental Exchange have doubled, tripled, and halved in value over short periods. While clothing and other consumer goods depend on the cotton market, the other sector members...

Andy_Hecht

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, and April showers bring May flowers. In the northern hemisphere, farmers are now planting the crops that will feed the world after the fall harvest season. Mother Nature is typically the primary determinate of agricultural products as the weather conditions determine if there will be enough supplies to feed the...

Andy_Hecht

The worldwide pandemic gripped the markets two years ago, throwing the global economy into a brief tailspin. In hindsight, the decline in markets across all assets seems like the blink of an eye. At the time, it felt like an eternity. Crude oil explodes and becomes very volatile Natural gas at an unseasonal high Coal reached a new record peak US energy...

Andy_Hecht

The pound sterling, the United Kingdom’s foreign currency instrument, was the global reserve currency in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. For decades, the US dollar has been the world’s reserve currency, which became official in 1944 after a delegation from forty-four allied countries decided that the world’s currencies would no longer be...

Andy_Hecht

Henry Clay was a US Senator from Kentucky, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the US Secretary of State, and a Presidential candidate in the 1800s. His legacy and nickname were “The Great Compromiser” for his involvement with the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise Tariff of 1833, and the Compromise of 1850. As Henry Clay understood, any great compromise...

Andy_Hecht

A perfect trading environment? Volatility is a mixed blessing. Day traders love lots of action as it creates opportunities to make or lose money. Day traders are action junkies, looking for price moves and technical patterns like predators hidden in the reeds to pounce. Trade or investment- Make a choice before pulling the trigger Trading- One set of rules ...

Andy_Hecht

A successful trader must be like a chameleon, willing to change with market conditions. Markets reflect the economic and geopolitical landscapes. The global pandemic changed many assumptions, forcing market participants to develop new skills to deal with the price carnage in early 2020. The impact of unprecedented central bank liquidity and government stimulus...