Equities and the Economy:

• U.S. equities little changed since last Tuesday.
• U.S. dollar remains at near a 14 year high.

Although U.S equities closed higher yesterday they’re very marginally below last Tuesday’s close which was when the data was known for the last Morning Energy Blog. Last Wednesday the Dow closed at 19,911 and yesterday the Dow closed at 19,883, up 40 points from Friday’s close. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also up yesterday at 2,263 and 5,457 which is also lower than last Wednesday. That being said, considering new highs have consistently been hit this month some consolidation is not to be unexpected. Call it bivouacking. CNN’s Fear & Greed index is still at a lofty/overbought level so I’d be cautious about putting “new” money in the market here. That being said, it sure feels that the market wants to “print” 20,000 before the end of the year. This morning the Dow is up 88 points just 29 shy of that number.

Oil

• Oil prices just about same as a week ago around $53.

Last Wednesday WTI and Brent closed at $52.98 and Brent closed at $53.90. Yesterday WTI settled up 22¢ at $52.12 while Brent fell 29¢ to $54.92. The January WTI Nymex contract expires today so we may see some position squaring. This morning WTI is up 36¢. All pretty much chatter.

Courtesy of MDA Information Systems LLC

Natural Gas

• Natural gas prices have fallen materially since last week.
• 6-15 day forecast very warm for eastern half of the country.

After hitting a two year high at $3.777 natural gas prices have reversed weighed down by a continually warming weather forecast falling nearly 45¢ in less than two weeks. Yesterday the January Nymex contract closed down 2.3¢ at $3.392 from Friday’s settle . This morning natty is getting knackered trading 13.9¢ lower. Take a look at the weather forecast. The jet stream is buckling creating a “ridge” over the eastern half of the country allowing warm Gulf air to penetrate into the far north. Very bearish, and a welcome reprieve from the very cold weather we just had. The forecast for Christmas day for Chicago and Cincinnati are for highs to be 14 and 13 degrees above normal.

Elsewhere

The future has arrived. Last week Amazon completed its first delivery by drone. It took just 13 minutes to make the delivery. That short trip could mark a major milestone for both the retailer and the transportation industry. The delivery was part of Amazon’s Prime Air service. A customer in the Cambridge area of England took possession of the company’s first unmanned delivery. The drone delivery service was announced last July and allows customers to choose from thousands of items. The drones are designed to deliver packages weighing up to 5 pounds in 30 minutes or less. The service is still in the early stage of the test phase with only two customers.