Posted on 05/28/2010 7:11:16 AM PDT by blam
Traders Push Commodities Up As NOAA Warns Of A Nightmare 2010 Hurricane Season
Vince Veneziani
May 28, 2010, 9:02 AM
Any commodities trader worth their name will have their eyes glued to The Weather Channel when June comes, marking the official start of the hurricane season.
A piece in the Financial Times today discusses how commodity prices have surged this week as the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned of a strong 2010 hurricane season. Oil and natural gas prices have jumped since yesterday, along with orange juice, which will soar even higher should Florida get hit by a major storm this year.
FT: Hurricanes wield significant influence in commodity markets, triggering wild price moves. Katrina and Rita forced shutdowns of natural gas and oil production and refinery activity along the Gulf coast, sending energy prices sharply higher. Charley, Frances and Jeanne in 2004 and Wilma in 2005 inflicted lasting damage to Florida’s citrus industry, helping push orange juice futures to a record high.
David Streit, meteorologist with Commodity Weather Group, said: “Any time you have an active season, it’s going to make for active markets.”
Check out the chart below. We've circled temporary spikes in the price of OJ futures which occur in the latter half of each year. As you can see, when the hurricanes hit, the price pops.
Image: FinViz.com
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Is this a were-all-gonna-die moment?
Watch there be somewhere around 1 to 3 named storms this year.
And as for the oil spill, agitation by large waves could just help break it up better than anything else that’s been tried.
These predictions get so dire, way over the top.
Remember the predictions after Katrina, we would going to have many more storms because of Goreball warming. And then almost nothing...
It seems they plan on predicting calamity until they get it.
Well, even a broken clock is right now and then.
NOAA has been predicting horrendous hurricane seasons for years. they’ve been spectacularly wrong for the past four or five years.
why beleive them now?
Been through hurricanes my whole life. I no longer pay attention to ‘predictions’. These are the same people who can’t tell you where thunderstorms are going to be on a regular day. Locally- the ‘professionals’ said KATRINA ‘snuck up’ on them!!!
They’ll name thunderstorms to get their predicted ‘quota’ and conveniently adjust ‘down’ their predictions when they realize the storms aren’t obeying their prognostications.
When a storm is aimed at the Gulf, I’ll pay attention. Till then, I”m not buying into the ‘what’s coming off of Africa’ hype.
Brought to you by the people who want you to believe Obama is an American...
Janice Dean (the weather machine) on Fox News just went into a two minute tear fest espousing her fears that all the oil in the gulf is going to absorb heat and that will lead to warmer water in the gulf and therefore more hurricanes. I kid you not.....un-freaking-believable......
I cover my pool a few times a summer if algae gets hold and I want to kill it without dosing the pool with chemicals. Every time I do that after a few days the water is too cold to get in. A dark cover over water does not make it warmer. What a maroon.....
When there is a hurricane 100 miles offshore, they can’t accurately predict where it will hit, so how are they able to predict the number or severity of the storms. I think they are trying to justify their existance.
Here’s a tip. Watch for Jim Cantore of the weather channel. Don’t be where he is. Simple enough.
That's the purpose of hurricanes - a cleansing force of nature.
You got that right! Another scam for the Big Al. Where is he by the way? Want to talk to him about his mornings record cold. (sarc)
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