MEIR ON METALS: Markets retreat in the wake of Fed comments

Apr 04, 2012 | 10:15 AM |

Analyst Ed Meir looks at what is moving the metal markets on Wednesday April 4. Copper and General Commentary: It seems that what is moving markets these days are various pronouncements coming out of the US Federal Reserve, either in the form of testimony or speeches given by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, or in Tuesday’s case, policy minutes released by the central bank. The March instalment of these sacred deliberations suggested that the Fed governors were not eager to launch additional stimulus measures – a stance that was not particularly surprising, but which nevertheless caused its fair share of damage to a number of markets. Moves towards any type of quantitative easing, the minutes revealed, would only be undertaken if the current expansion falters or if deflation sets in, typically defined by inflation clocking in at less than 2% per annum. “I would have to see some pretty severe circumstances before I endorse for another round of quantitative easing,” Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart told Bloomberg, a statement that seemed to have made a much more resolute case against QE3 than was perhaps being....