Headline News 22.02.11

US & GLOBAL 
• Harga minyak dunia melonjak ke level tertinggi dalam kurun 2‐1/2 tahun terakhir akibat reaksi pelaku pasar tentang berkembangnya
kerusuhan di Libya yang dikhawatirkan akan berprospek menaikkan tekanan inflasi dan menggoyang stabilitas negara lain di kawasan
Afrika Utara dan Timur Tengah.
 
• Pasar ekuitas global diperdagangkan melemah ditengah tutupnya bursa AS berkaitan dengan libur nasional. Pasar ekuitas global rata‐rata
turun 1% akibat kombinasi dari ketidakpastian atas masa depan harga minyak, meningkatnya tanda‐tanda kenaikan suku bunga serta
dibarengi tanda‐tanda earning korporasi yang suram. Poin‐poin tersebut secara bersama‐sama, menutupi rilis data ekonomi yang solid
dari Eropa.
 
• Sementara itu harga emas menguat ke level tertinggi dalam kurun 7‐minggu terakhir, naik di atas 1.400 USD per troy ounce, terdongkrak
oleh kekhawatiran inflasi dan antisipasi resiko para investor. Pecahnya protes di ibukota Tripoli Libya untuk pertama kali setelah
kerusuhan di kota Benghazi dan kabar mengenai beberapa unit tentara yang membelot ke oposisi menjadikan kondisi ini sebagai salah
satu pemberontakan paling berdarah yang menggoncangkan dunia Arab.
 
• Pasar keuangan cenderung sangat sensitif terhadap kekerasan di Libya karena negara tersebut mengekspor sekitar 1,1 juta barel minyak
mentah per hari. Harga minyak mentah Brent Crude London <LCOc1> naik 2,50 USD per barel ke level tertinggi sejak 2‐1/2 tahun terakhir.
Naiknya harga minyak berkontribusi besar pada meningkatnya tekanan inflasi, yang menjadi salah satu perhatian utama dari investor saat
ini setelah sebelumnya masih diliputi suasana "bullish" seiring harapan bahwa pemulihan ekonomi global saat ini telah berjalan secara
berkelanjutan.
 
• Indeks saham MSCI turun 0,3% dan FTSEurofirst 300 <. FTEU3> ditutup turun 1,3%.
 
• Euro melemah seiring meningkatnya ketegangan di Timur Tengah yang menurunkan minat pada aset beresiko. Namun sebelumnya euro
sempat mencapai level tertinggi dalam kurun 10‐hari terakhir terdorong komentar hawkish dari pejabat ECB yang menaikkan ekspektasi
kenaikan tingkat suku bunga tahun ini. Euro turun sekitar 0.1% terhadap dollar ke 1,3670 <EUR=> setelah sempat naik hingga 1,3727 pada
awal sesi, yang merupakan level tertinggi sejak 10 Februari. Sementara itu mata uang lain bergerak dalam kisaran tipis seiring libur
Amerika – President’s Day, dimana dollar AS naik 0.1% terhadap yen ke 83.14, dan poundsterling turun 0.1% terhadap dollar AS ke 1.6220.

Oil soars on Libya concerns

TOKYO | Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:55pm EST

TOKYO (Reuters) - Brent crude oil futures rose by more than $2 to as high as $108.18 per barrel from the previous close on continued fears that violence in Libya could lead to wider supply disruptions from the OPEC country.

Brent crude for April delivery stood at $107.52 per barrel at 0110 GMT. On Monday, it hit a 2- year high for any nearby month of $108.70.
On Monday, spreading unrest in Libya shut down 6 percent of oil output in Africa's No.3 producer and prompted a number of energy firms to pull out international staff, sending Brent oil prices above $105 a barrel.

Gold jumps 1 percent, over $1,400 on Mideast violence

LONDON | Mon Feb 21, 2011 2:36pm EST

LONDON (Reuters) - Gold prices jumped above $1,400 an ounce on Monday for the first time in nearly seven weeks as violence flared in north Africa and the Middle East, raising interest in the precious metal as a haven from risk.

Bullion has risen 3.5 percent over six days of gains, its longest winning streak since August, as protests that have unseated leaders in Egypt and Tunisia spread to neighboring states, threatening the grip of long-entrenched autocratic leaders elsewhere.

Spot gold rose as high as $1,408.20 an ounce and was bid at $1,405.23 an ounce at 1900 GMT, up 1.2 percent or $16.65 an ounce and within some $25 of an all-time high. Prices have risen from an almost four-month low of $1,300 in late January.

U.S. gold futures for April delivery rose $18.40 an ounce to $1,407.10, with trading volume about one-third the 30-day average due to the Presidents' Day U.S. holiday.

"The unrest and the fear in these countries is increasing," said Bayram Dincer, an analyst at LGT Capital Management in Switzerland. "These uncertainties on the geopolitical risk side are driving the gold market."
"See how easily gold broke $1,390, $1,395, which were strong resistance levels, and now the $1,400 psychological level," he said. "It seems nobody is looking for lower gold prices."

Other safe-haven assets also rose, with bund futures up and the Swiss franc gaining against the dollar and the euro. Brent oil prices meanwhile surged above $105 a barrel for the first time since 2008 as the turmoil hit oil supplies while European shares slipped.

Silver jumped 4.3 percent to $33.85, hitting its highest since the Hunt Brothers surge 31 years ago and widening the gold ratio -- the number of ounces needed to buy an ounce of gold dropping -- to around 42, a near 13-year low.

VIOLENCE HITS TRIPOLI

Dozens of people were reported killed in Tripoli as anti-government protests reached the Libyan capital for the first time.

The Libyan uprising is one of a series of revolts that have spread across the Arab world since December, threatening entrenched dynasties from Bahrain to Yemen.
The protests have pushed gold higher even as interest in investment products like exchange-traded funds stayed soft.

Holdings of the world's largest gold exchange-traded fund, New York's SPDR Gold Trust, fell to a nine-month low on Friday at 1,223.1 tones, data from the fund showed.
"If (buying) is not through the exchange-traded funds or a clear change in the net long on Comex, it is most likely to be through the physical market -- coin and small bar buying," said Daniel Major, an analyst at RBS Global Banking & Markets.
"I potentially wouldn't rule out larger purchases by high net worth individuals on the back of the unrest we're seeing."

OTHERS RISE TOO

Gold priced in euros hit its highest since January 18 at 1,029.92 euros an ounce, and sterling-priced gold its highest since January 14 at 868.06 pounds an ounce.
Platinum was at $1,846.45 an ounce against $1,833.50, while palladium peaked at $859.50 and was later at $853.88 against $848.25.
But silver led the way, jumping more than 10 percent in three days, its biggest such rally since early November.

"We expect the combination of continued strength in investment demand and a sustained industrial demand recovery will support silver... this year before easing amid improved economic conditions in 2012," said Morgan Stanley in a note.