Commodity prices mostly fell this week as traders balanced weak Chinese data against signs that the US Federal Reserve could curtail its quantitative easing stimulus policy sooner rather than later.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told US Congress on Wednesday that the US central bank could scale back stimulus measures soon if economic conditions improved.
However, he said any tapering off could only happen once it had confidence that economic gains could be sustained.
OIL: Brent oil prices sank to a three-week low at US$100.64 per barrel on Thursday on the back of poor Chinese economic data and Bernanke’s comments.
Banking giant HSBC Holdings PLC reported that manufacturing activity in China slowed this month for the first time in seven months, in a new sign of the weak recovery of the world’s No. 2 economy.
China’s purchasing managers’ index for the month came in at 49.6, from a final 50.4 last month. A reading above 50 indicates growth and anything below contraction.
Crude futures had fallen on Wednesday following the bearish US oil inventory report and Bernanke’s testimony.
However, US gasoline demand was expected to surge this weekend as the Memorial Day holiday tomorrow starts off the summer vacation driving season.
By Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in July dropped to US$102.27 a barrel compared with US$104.47 a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate, or light sweet crude, for July sank to US$93.91 a barrel from US$95.64 for the expired next month’s contract one week earlier.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold hit one-month lows, but rebounded into positive territory on Bernanke’s remarks and as dealers sought shelter in the safe-haven precious metal.
By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, the price of gold rose to US$1,390.25 an ounce from US$1,368.75 a week earlier.
Silver eased to US$22.38 an ounce from US$22.52, while on the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum fell to US$1,455 an ounce from US$1,470 and palladium fell US$729 an ounce from US$736.
COFFEE: Arabica prices struck the lowest level since March 2008 on expectations of abundant supplies from Brazil, dealers said.
“The plentiful supply is continuing to weigh on prices,” Commerzbank analysts said in a note to clients. “The harvest has begun in Brazil and looks set to produce a record crop for a low-yield year.”
By Friday on NYBOT-ICE, Arabica for delivery in July slid to US$0.13040 a pound (0.45kg) from US$0.14050 a week earlier.
On LIFFE, Robusta for July dropped to US$1,978 a tonne from US$2,042.
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