Submitted by Nick Cunningham via OilPrice.com,
Natural gas prices plunged to their lowest level since November on mild weather in the U.S., which has caused storage levels to decline at a much slower pace than expected.
Contracts for March delivery on the Nymex exchange dipped to $2.63 on February 21, down a third since December. The bearish swing has come after successive EIA reports showing a modest drawdown in gas inventory levels.
March rate hike odds dropped very marginally from before The Fed minutes (from 38% to 34%)...
But there is a great reaction in capital markets with stocks disappointed by The Fed's warnings and bonds and bullion bid...
Fed fears of dollar strength knocked the USD index lower... (despite a more hawkish tone)
And the yield curve flattened...
As it seems the market is not buying what The Fed is selling - except perhaps a loss of faith is fiscal policy.
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Gold, Liberty, and the War on Cash
Written by Jeff Nielson (CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL)
March rate hike odds are unchanged (below 40%) and the yield curve has flattened since The Fed's February statement (despite heavy jawboning and higher inflation data) and so the Minutes were expected to help ease the markets to not be surprised. And they were...MANY FED OFFICIALS SAW HIKE `FAIRLY SOON' IF ECONOMY ON TRACK. However, the Minutes also showed 'balance' by not proclaiming concern over inflation - *MANY FED VOTERS SAW ONLY MODEST RISK OF SIGNIFICANT INFLATION and FED OFFICIALS SAW DOWNSIDE RISKS FROM FURTHER DOLLAR STRENGTH.
When Philadelphia became the first US city to pass a soda tax last summer, city officials were eagerly looking forward to the surplus-tax funded windfall to plug gaping budget deficits (and, since this is Philadelphia, the occasional embezzlement scheme). Then, one month ago, after the tax went into effect on January 1st we showed the tax applied in practice: a receipt for a 10 pack of flavored water carried a 51% beverage tax. And since PA has a sales tax of 6% and Philly already charges another 2%, the total sales tax was 8%.