Daily Market Price Updates and Commentary 20th March 2025

May’25 was knocked back to 19.56 on the opening as some selling appeared in reaction to the recent retreat from 20c, however its influence was limited and prices soon stabilized with the early part of the morning spent holding a tight band either side of 19.69. While confidence has been lacking there is still some desire amongst the smaller traders to play the long side in the hope that additional progress can be made and that more fund short covering may take place, and so as the session moved along the price was slowly nudged back up to sit in the 19.80’s. There was limited reaction as the US morning commenced with the price simply stalling for a period, however confidence then returned and a period of more concerted buying then saw new daily highs as the price accelerated up through 20c. Highs were recorded at 20.06, just 0.03 points shy of the mark achieved on Tuesday, though with the strong selling remaining in this area the market once again consolidated rather than push ahead as the longs would have wanted. This sideways pattern extended through the rest of the session without ever seriously looking to challenge 20.09, with the final hour seeing some position squaring to push the spot back beneath 20c. Closing activity was mixed as May’25 settled bang on 20.00, placing the market positively as we head into Friday though with the market still needing a clean break of the overhead congestion if the current move is to continue. 

The whites have slightly disappointed this week with some of the recent enthusiasm fading away, and it was another mixed showing this morning as initial unchanged trades gave way to leave May’25 drifting down to $553.80 midway through the morning. Volume was light with half of the spot interest generated by the spread where May/Aug’25 was being pressed back to $14.00, contributing to the decline in the absence of any significant outright activity. The lows were only seen briefly and values tracked back upward over the rest of the morning in reaction to supportive interest from No.11, a factor which had narrowed the May/May’25 white premium value to $120.50 despite there being only nominal trading interest. Having returned to the upper $550’s the market started to build again and through the afternoon May’25 climbed steadily back up to a session high $565.70, narrowing the deficit to No.11 in the process which in turn moved the May/May’25 value back out to $123.00. The highs did fall short of the $566.90 mark posted on Tuesday, but still it served to re-engage the upside, a factor which appeared unlikely 24 hours ago. The final part of the day was spent holding the upper levels quietly and led to a May’25 close at $564.00, lending a positive look to the market with the opportunity in place to end the week strongly.