Most commodity markets stabilized this week after two weeks of choppy trade, but crude oil sank further after the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that high price levels could endanger global economic growth.
“After tumultuous price moves through the first two weeks of May, commodity prices have stabilized and in certain cases posted a rebound, but the pace of the recovery has been mixed,” Barclays Capital analyst Sudakshina Unnikrishnan said.
OIL: Crude futures fell after the IEA called for increased oil output to tackle the problem of high prices.
The IEA said that despite a recent 10-percent drop, oil prices remained high because of strong demand and geopolitical uncertainty — a reference to unrest in North Africa and the Middle East.
New York oil prices had surged above US$100 a barrel on Wednesday, lifted by a weak dollar and an unexpected stabilization in US crude stockpiles.
Prices rallied after the US government’s Department of Energy announced that US crude stockpiles had failed to rise as expected in the week to May 13.
Traders were still monitoring the political situation in the Middle East and North Africa, where uprisings have already toppled the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt and unrest has spread to other parts of the oil-producing region.
By late on Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in July had fallen to US$110.92 a barrel from US$112.85 for the June contract the previous week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) or light sweet crude for June stood at US$97.41 a barrel compared with US$98.81.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold, silver and platinum drifted lower, but palladium won ground.
“The precious metals mirrored the mixed mood, taking direction from currencies,” Fast Markets analyst James Moore said.
Gold, fresh from striking record highs at the start of this month, will enjoy buoyant demand this year, particularly from China and India, the World Gold Council said in a report on Thursday.
Gold struck a record US$1,577.57 per ounce on May 2, as the safe---haven precious metal was lifted by a weak US dollar, low US interest rates and concerns over high inflation.
However, the metal has since tailed off slightly, amid a wider commodities sell-off.
By late on Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold fell to US$1,491 an ounce from US$1,506 the previous week.
Silver dipped to US$34.80 an ounce from US$36.20.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum eased to US$1,767 an ounce from US$1,774.
Palladium edged upwards to US$734 an ounce from US$718.
BASE METALS: Industrial metals traded mixed amid jitters over the dollar, the eurozone debt crisis and the faltering global economy.
“Fears of further dollar strength, the debt crisis in the eurozone and slowing global growth momentum, as central banks tighten monetary policy to curb rising inflation, should keep the rallies in check,” analyst Robin Bhar at Credit Agricole CIB said.
By late on Friday on the London Metal Exchange (LME), copper for delivery in three months rallied to US$9,040 a tonne from US$8,825 the previous week.
Three-month aluminum saw drop to US$2,526.75 a tonne from US$2,600.
Three-month lead rose to US$2,486 a tonne from US$2,325.
Three-month tin slipped to US$28,175 a tonne from US$29,100.
Three-month zinc rose to US$2,169 a tonne from US$2,168.
Three-month nickel decreased to US$23,485 a tonne from US$24,600.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
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