Crude Slumps 3.50%, Gold Rebounds Sharply (USO, GLD, SLV, UNG, PAA, CHK)

Commodities came under selling pressure once again as the Dollar index soared to 2-year high on concern over Spain and Italy, where bond yields jumped sharply.The U.S. dollar jumped, strengthening against key competitors, as the euro dipped below $1.24 for the first time since mid-2010 on persistent worries about Europe’s debt crisis.
The ICE dollar index rose 0.43%, which gauges the greenback’s performance against a basket of six major currencies, climbed to 82.88 from 82.468 late Tuesday. The euro fell -0.7021% fell as low as $1.2385 and recently traded at $1.2415, down from $1.2493 in North American trade late Tuesday.On Tuesday, the European shared currency came under heavy selling pressure after Egan-Jones Ratings Co. downgraded Spain’s debt rating to B from BB-minus with a negative outlook.

The July contract for light, sweet crude-oil futures slumped -3.42%   to $87.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after touching a low of $87.49. A close below $88 would be the lowest since October.
Investors were generally pulling out of risk assets as lingering concerns about Spain’s finances stoked fears about the euro zone. The country saw bond yields surge after Egan-Jones Ratings Co., on Tuesday after the European markets closed, downgraded Spain to B from BB- with a negative outlook, pushing Spanish debt further into junk status.However, Gold futures turned higher after falling about 1% earlier in the session on safe haven buying. Recently, Gold for August delivery rose $14.20, or 0.9%, to trade at $1,565.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. July silver prices also turned higher and added 0.70% to $27.99 an ounce.
Other metals declined, with platinum and copper leading the pack. July platinum fell -1.87% to $1,401 an ounce and July copper fell -2.44% to $3.38 a pound.

United States Oil Fund LP (ETF)(NYSEARCA:USO) was down 1.15 (-3.36%) at $33.08, SPDR Gold Trust (ETF)(NYSEARCA:GLD) rose 0.88 (0.58%) to $151.90, iShares Silver Trust (ETF)(NYSEARCA:SLV) added 0.08 (0.30%) to $27.18 and United States Natural Gas Fund, LP(NYSEARCA:UNG) fell 0.53 (-3.05%) to $16.85.
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P.(NYSE:PAA) fell 1% to $79.60. The company says it expects strong Q2 results due to strong fundamentals and favorable market conditions for its energy transportation services. The pipeline company anticipates adjusted EBITDA for the quarter to surpass the midpoint of its $460M quarterly guidance by ~15%.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation(NYSE:CHK) lost 3% as Bloomberg discusses ) as a potential takeover target due to its currently depressed valuation. CHK’s equity and net debt are valued at $9.19 for each barrel of oil equivalent, Bloomberg calculates, lowest among U.S. oil and gas explorers with market caps greater than $5B.