Gold prices slid this week as the precious metal lost some of its safe-haven status after the US Federal Reserve agreed to scale back its huge stimulus program.
The value of other metals also fell after Wednesday’s move by the US central bank boosted confidence in the recovery of the world’s biggest economy, but oil futures gained as rebound hopes boosted demand for crude in the country.
The US economy grew at a robust 4.1 percent annual rate in the third quarter, much faster than previously estimated, the US Department Commerce said on Friday.
OIL: Crude futures rose on expectations of firmer demand in the US, the world’s No. 1 oil consumer.
Both contracts had risen strongly on Thursday, as investors read the Fed’s decision to cut its monthly asset purchases as a sign of the central bank’s confidence in the US economy.
Oil also won support this week after the US Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported that the country’s commercial crude oil inventories had fallen by 2.9 million barrels last week, above the 2.7 million projected by analysts.
By Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February stood at US$111.44 a barrel, compared with US$108.28 a week ago for next month’s expired contract.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate, or light sweet crude, for next month rose to US$98.92 a barrel from US$97.17.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold dropped close to three-year lows in reaction to the Fed’s move.
Gold struck US$1,187.13 an ounce on Friday, the lowest point since late June, when the precious metal hit a three-year trough at US$1,180.50.
Gold’s value is set to post its first annual loss since the start of the millennium on weak demand and easing inflation, analysts said.
By late on Friday on the London Bullion Market, the price of gold fell to US$1,195.25 an ounce from US$1,232 a week earlier, while silver dropped to US$19.33 an ounce from US$19.55.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum slid to US$1,328 an ounce from US$1,367, as palladium declined to US$700 an ounce from US$723.
SUGAR: Prices recovered after reaching the lowest points for 3.5 years, at US$432.10 a tonne in London and US$0.1586 a pound (0.45kg) in New York.
By Friday on LIFFE, London’s futures exchange, the price of 1 tonne of white sugar for March dipped to US$442.40 from US$443.80 a week earlier.
On the ICE Futures US exchange in New York, the price of unrefined sugar for delivery in March rose to US$0.1642 a pound from US$0.1624 a week earlier.
COCOA: Futures struck their highest point in more than two years at £1,800 a tonne in London.
By Friday on LIFFE, cocoa for delivery in March gained to £1,791 a tonne from £1,768 a week earlier.
On ICE Futures US, cocoa for March increased to US$2,801 a tonne from US$2,782.
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
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
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last