Commodity markets swung between losses and gains this week, mirroring the performance of the US dollar.
The US currency, which at the start of the week was pushing the euro toward parity, began to fall after the US Federal Reserve dropped its pledge to remain “patient” on raising US interest rates. The dropping of the key word from its policy statement was a significant step away from its crisis-based monetary policy since 2008 that resulted eventually in the Fed cutting its main rate to zero.
Additionally this week, a cautious Fed marked down its growth forecast for this year by 0.3 percentage point to between 2.3 and 2.7 percent, saying that US economic growth had “moderated somewhat” since January.
OIL: New York’s main contract fell to US$42.05 a barrel on Wednesday, its lowest level since March 2009, with the market under persistent pressure from large supplies of crude and a strong US dollar, traders said.
However, the price rebounded on Friday, as traders snapped up the euro after Greece’s deal with its key European partners, who agreed to finish work “as fast as possible” on completing its EU-IMF rescue program. Oil markets are also tracking the global supply glut, which was made worse by the 10th straight weekly increase in US crude inventories.
By Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in May stood at US$54.99 a barrel compared with US$55.99 for the expired April contract a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate or light sweet crude for April rose to US$46.17 a barrel from US$45.28 a week earlier.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold recovered after forging its lowest level since December the previous week and as the market tracked developments surrounding the outlook for US interest rates.
“A subdued inflation outlook, a rising dollar and recent weakness in economic data may sway the Fed from going too aggressive on rates,” Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said.
By Friday on the London Bullion Market, the price of gold rose to US$1,183.10 an ounce from US$1,152 a week earlier.
Silver rallied to US$16.17 an ounce from US$15.50.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum grew to US$1,129 an ounce from US$1,115. Palladium fell to US$778 an ounce from US$791.
BASE METALS: Base or industrial metals came under pressure from a rallying dollar, before winning support as the US unit lost some of its gains.
By Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose to US$5,945 a tonne from US$5,837 a week earlier.
Three-month aluminum rose to US$1,784 per tonne from US$1,754.50, while three-month lead dropped to US$1,752 a tonne from US$1,790.50.
Three month zinc edged higher to US$2,023.50 a tonne from US$2,011.50, while three-month tin slid to US$17,150 a tonne from US$17,425 and three-month nickel retreated to US$13,035 a tonne from US$13,880.
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],”
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
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained