Commodities mostly fell this week on the back of a strong US dollar, which surged following news of a surprise package of deflation-fighting stimulus measures in the eurozone.
The European Central Bank (ECB) cut its key interest rate to a record-low of 0.05 percent on Thursday, from 0.15 percent, and announced an asset-purchase plan in order to counter deflation pressures, boost lending and lift sluggish growth in the eurozone.
In reaction, the euro slumped to a 14-month low of US$1.2920, while the dollar leapt to ¥105.71 — last seen in early October 2008.
A stronger greenback makes dollar-priced oil and commodities more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies. That tends to dent demand and push prices lower.
OIL: The oil market fell as official data showed the US economy added 142,000 jobs last month, dashing hopes for a gain of 200,000.
Traders also eyed abundant global crude supplies and digested news of a ceasefire deal between Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels.
By Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in October fell to US$101.29 a barrel from US$102.89 one week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate or light sweet crude for October slid to US$94.05 per barrel compared with US$95.40.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold dived to a two-and-a-half-month low of US$1,257.39 per ounce, rocked by the strong dollar and falling safe-haven demand.
“The price of gold fell sharply on Thursday as the US currency appreciated ... in response to the ECB’s surprise easing measures,” Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada said.
Easing Ukraine concerns meanwhile dimmed demand for gold as a haven investment.
By Friday on the London Bullion Market, the price of gold sank to US$1,266 per ounce from US$1,285.75 a week earlier. Silver eased to US$19.13 an ounce from US$19.47.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum gained to US$1,406 per ounce from US$1,424.
Palladium climbed to US$887 an ounce from US$898.
BASE METALS: Base or industrial metal prices mostly declined, but nickel rose on the back of a possible exports ban in the Philippines.
By Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months slid to US$6,932.75 a tonne from US$6,960 a week earlier.
Three-month aluminum reversed to US$2,098 per tonne from US$2,101, while three-month lead dipped to US$2,209.25 a tonne from US$2,245.
Three-month tin dropped to US$21,390 a tonne from US$21,877.
Three-month nickel increased to US$19,460 per tonne from US$18,565, and three-month zinc rose to US$2,395 a tonne from US$2,349.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day