Commodity prices were mostly lower this week, in line with tumbling stock markets as traders sought cover from the escalating eurozone debt crisis.
Financial markets fell sharply for days as Italy, Spain and France faced a sharp spike in borrowing costs, with the debt crisis showed new signs of spreading.
“Further escalation of the debt crisis in Europe has led to a sharp rise in risk aversion and put pressure on commodity prices across the board,” Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said.
OIL: Brent oil fell on intensifying concern over the impact of the eurozone debt crisis on global energy demand, but New York oil futures hit five-month highs thanks to a deal which is expected to reduce US energy stockpiles.
“Should Europe slide into a deep recession because of the debt crisis, this would have negative consequences for oil demand,” Fritsch said.
In New York, oil prices reached US$103.37 — the highest level since June 1, before falling back on profit-taking.
By late Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in January stood at US$109.04, compared with US$114.22 for the December contract a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate or light sweet crude for December, was almost flat at US$98.84 compared with US$98.82.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold led precious metals lower.
“Bullion suffered from renewed profit-taking, driven by a broader market sell-off, with other metals in the sector also suffering substantial losses,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at Russian financial group VTB Capital.
Global demand for gold was 1,054 tonnes in the three months to September, up 6.0 percent year-on-year — equal to a record US$57.7 billion in value terms, the industry body said in a report.
By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold dropped to US$1,719 an ounce from US$1,773 the previous week.
Silver fell to US$32.25 an ounce from US$33.77.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum slipped to US$1,594 an ounce from US$1,628. Palladium tumbled to US$608 an ounce from US$651.
BASE METALS: Industrial metals prices mainly retreated.
By late Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months fell to US$7,525 a tonne from US$7,623 the previous week.
Three-month aluminum drop-ped to US$2,105 a tonne from US$2,169.
Three-month lead firmed to US$2,060 a tonne from US$1,996. Three-month tin decreased to US$21,300 a tonne from US$21,700. Three-month zinc advanced to US$1,963 a tonne from US$1,912. Three-month nickel retreated to US$17,850 a tonne from US$18,350.
COCOA: Cocoa prices hit fresh lows owing to ample supplies and lower demand.
By Friday on LIFFE, London’s futures exchange, cocoa for delivery in March traded at ￡1,584 a tonne compared with￡1,587 for the December contract a week earlier.
In New York on the NYBOT-ICE, cocoa for March hit US$2,492 a tonne compared with US$2,505 for the December contract.
WEAKER ACTIVITY: The sharpest deterioration was seen in the electronics and optical components sector, with the production index falling 13.2 points to 44.5 Taiwan’s manufacturing sector last month contracted for a second consecutive month, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipping to 48, reflecting ongoing caution over trade uncertainties, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The decline reflects growing caution among companies amid uncertainty surrounding US tariffs, semiconductor duties and automotive import levies, and it is also likely linked to fading front-loading activity, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “Some clients have started shifting orders to Southeast Asian countries where tariff regimes are already clear,” Lien told a news conference. Firms across the supply chain are also lowering stock levels to mitigate
Six Taiwanese companies, including contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), made the 2025 Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s largest firms by revenue. In a report published by New York-based Fortune magazine on Tuesday, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), ranked highest among Taiwanese firms, placing 28th with revenue of US$213.69 billion. Up 60 spots from last year, TSMC rose to No. 126 with US$90.16 billion in revenue, followed by Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) at 348th, Pegatron Corp (和碩) at 461st, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) at 494th and Wistron Corp (緯創) at
NEW PRODUCTS: MediaTek plans to roll out new products this quarter, including a flagship mobile phone chip and a GB10 chip that it is codeveloping with Nvidia Corp MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday projected that revenue this quarter would dip by 7 to 13 percent to between NT$130.1 billion and NT$140 billion (US$4.38 billion and US$4.71 billion), compared with NT$150.37 billion last quarter, which it attributed to subdued front-loading demand and unfavorable foreign exchange rates. The Hsinchu-based chip designer said that the forecast factored in the negative effects of an estimated 6 percent appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar against the greenback. “As some demand has been pulled into the first half of the year and resulted in a different quarterly pattern, we expect the third quarter revenue to decline sequentially,”
ASE Technology Holding Co (ASE, 日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip assembly and testing service provider, yesterday said it would boost equipment capital expenditure by up to 16 percent for this year to cope with strong customer demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Aside from AI, a growing demand for semiconductors used in the automotive and industrial sectors is to drive ASE’s capacity next year, the Kaohsiung-based company said. “We do see the disparity between AI and other general sectors, and that pretty much aligns the scenario in the first half of this year,” ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu (吳田玉) told an
RSS