Commodity prices mostly slid this week on worsening economic sentiment caused by political deadlock in indebted eurozone nation Italy and as the US braces for US$85 billion in budget cuts.
OIL: World crude prices reached multiweek low points as traders sought safety amid political turmoil in Italy, mixed economic data out of the US and China, and as dealers eyed huge US spending cuts that were due to kick in on Friday.
New York crude oil on Friday sank to US$90.29 a barrel — the lowest level since the end of last year.
At the same time, Brent North Sea crude reached a six-week low at US$109.82.
By Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in April slid to US$110.35 a barrel from US$114.19 a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) or light sweet crude for April dropped to US$90.60 a barrel compared with US$93.02.
PRECIOUS METALS: The price of gold recovered from seven-month lows of under US$1,600 an ounce struck the previous week after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed’s stimulus program would continue.
Gold is seen as a good hedge against inflation, while stimulating the economy with new cash can push up inflation and weaken the dollar, according to experts..
By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, the price of gold edged up to US$1,582.25 an ounce from US$1,576.50 a week earlier.
Silver dropped to US$28.01 an ounce from US$28.79.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum fell to US$1,579 an ounce from US$1,611.
Palladium slipped to US$721 an ounce from US$732.
BASE METALS: Base metal prices mostly dropped, gaining “little support from mostly positive US data and reassurance from Bernanke” on stimulus, BNP Paribas analyst Stephen Briggs said.
By late Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months slid to US$7,722 a tonne from US$7,808 a week earlier.
Three-month aluminum dropped to US$1,964 a tonne from US$2,049.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks