There are no important economic data in the U.S. for today and tomorrow - 19.5.2014

The majority of global stock indexes rose on Friday, except for the German DAX. This was due to the positive macroeconomic data for the U.S. real estate market. And the number of new building permits in April turned out at the maximum of almost 6 years.

However, the second component of the day, the Consumer Confidence Index from the University of Michigan set a 9-month high in April and fell more than expected in May. Due to this， the U.S. stock market growth on Friday was not very significant, less than 0.5%. At the same time telecommunications sector rose by 1.4%. We note the growth in quotations by 2.3% for the Verizon Communications (VZ). The investment fund, Berkshire Hathaway of the billionaire, Warren Buffett announced the acquisition of a package amounting to 11 million shares of the company in the first quarter. It also increased its investment in the Wal-Mart shares. However, their growth was not significant due to poor reporting, published on the eve. Buffett's principal investments in the U.S. stock market also consist of securities belonging the following companies: American Express, Coca-Cola, IBM and Wells Fargo.

This morning the Asian and European stock markets, as well as the U.S. futures are falling. It is caused by the following factors. Rising prices of Chinese real estate in April was the lowest for the 1.5 yr. due to falling demand. China has tightened the rules for interbank lending amid slowing growth in its economy. As for Europe, the biggest German bank, the Deutsche Bank shares fell markedly after the announcement of an additional issue amounting to 8 billion EUR. Note that today and tomorrow, we do not expect any significant data from the U.S. and the Eurozone.

The cost of Oil (Oil, Brent) has continued to grow on the aggravation of the political situation in Libya and the fighting in Benghazi. Libya mined only 215 thousand barrels per day in April or 13% of the possible volume.

According to the U.S. CFTC, the net-long on the Natgas decreased by 9.1% during the week to its lowest level since December. Its quotes dropped in a similar way. According to the forecast from the EIA agency, the shale gas production in the U.S. for this year will increase by 3% to the historically record level at 72.3 billion cubic feet. Nevertheless, we do not exclude the correction of the Gas prices upward, due to conclusion of the long-term contract for its supply from Russia to China. It is assumed that the Russian Gas will be sold at the European average, higher prices. Another factor increasing the quotations of the "blue fuel" can be a difficult financial state of the major U.S. shale gas producer (Chesapeake Energy). The company announced the sale of assets worth more than $4 billion and its quotes have fallen by 10% this week.

The Wheat has been coming cheaper for 9 consecutive days. That was the longest continuous decline since September 1998. Prior to that, it set a maximum of fourteen months and now corrected by 10%. The main reason for the decline in the Wheat prices was a rainy weather in the United States, where there was a drought previously observed. Meanwhile, the USDA increased the forecast of world reserves in 2015 only by 0.5% to 187.4 million tons. We believe that it can support the Wheat quotes. An additional factor may be the decrease of its crops in Ukraine, where the armed confrontation between the individual regions has been observed lately.

The Coffee prices fell again after the information of increase in exports from Uganda to the world market in April by 35% to 336.7 thousand bags (60 kg).

The Copper price has risen to a maximum of 11 weeks due to the growing demand in China, as well as the good data on the real estate construction in the U.S.