Global commodity prices dived this week, in line with world stock markets, on concerns over the US Federal Reserve ending its multibillion dollar economic stimulus measures, as well as owing to poor Chinese manufacturing data, analysts said.
“The Fed has been the common denominator behind the moves across the whole of financial markets this week with commodities taking the brunt of the selloff,” said Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at traders GFT Markets.
“This is due to the fact they are all priced in US dollars which has been a star performer after [Fed Chairman Ben] Bernanke signaled the Fed’s intention to withdraw its support by mid next year — a lot sooner than was apparently priced in,” Razaqzada said.
OIL: Crude oil prices tumbled, with Brent North Sea crude suffering its biggest drop since early November — losing almost US$4 a barrel on Thursday.
New York’s main contract ended down US$2.84 the same day, while prices fell further on Friday.
The oil market had on Thursday joined a global selloff in markets in response to Bernanke’s comments. Crude futures were also hit by poor manufacturing data from China, with HSBC’s preliminary purchasing managers’ index hitting 48.3 this month, worse than May’s final reading of 49.2 and its lowest since September.
By Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in August plunged to US$100.19 a barrel from US$105.93 a week earlier for the expired July contract.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) or light sweet crude for August stood at US$93.24 a barrel compared with US$97.63 for the July contract a week earlier.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold and silver prices slumped close to three-year low points after the Fed signaled that it would wind down its massive stimulus program.
Gold on Friday hit US$1,269.45 an ounce — the lowest level since mid-September 2010.
The precious metal had been hit by a rising US dollar, making US dollar-priced gold more expensive for buyers using rival currencies, thereby weighing on demand.
Gold fell also on receding inflationary concerns, with many investors arguing that quantitative easing stimulus fuels price hikes.
By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, the price of gold retreated to US$1,295.25 an ounce from US$1,391.25 a week earlier.
Silver dropped to US$19.87 an ounce from US$21.69.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum fell to US$1,395 an ounce from US$1,448.
Palladium decreased to US$672 an ounce from US$728.
BASE METALS: Base or industrial metal prices dived in line with the precious complex.
By Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months fell to US$6,810 a tonne from US$7,089 the prior week.
Three-month aluminum slid to US$1,795 a tonne from US$1,858. Three-month lead fell to US$2,026 a tonne from US$2,110. Three-month tin slid to US19,605 a tonne from US$20,240 and three-month zinc fell to US$1,849 a tonne from US$1,858.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last