Markets tumble as Dollar rises and Rivers ease
Early news today had European markets standing on their head as the investors try to sort out the mess with IMF chair being arrested and how that would play into the restructuring of many foreign nations debt. The greenback was substantially stronger this morning thus pushing commodities down. With the pending rape charges against Dominique Strauss- Kahn, most believe this would delay or prevent the International Monetary Fund from helping countries like Greece in restructuring their massive debt. On our own soil, the Obama Administration announced that it would extend and "ramp up" domestic production in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska which had some significant psychological effects on trading. As the day went on, and some disappointing manufacturing numbers were released, the dollar softened and we actually looked to be heading towards the positive side around lunchtime. Ahead of the bell, markets continued to falter as flood fears began to subside with the Army Corps of Engineers opening spillways to divert waters from reaching major refinery points in the Louisiana area. At the close, Crude lost $2.49 to $97.17, HEAT shed .0678 to $2.8744 and RBOB tumbled .1433 to $2.9311. Look for continued length to be shed with bounces in between as the current downward trend remains your friend.