Oil prices rose over the week despite the crude market facing pressure from high supplies, as traders awaited deals over Greece’s bailout and Iran’s nuclear program.
OIL: The weekly US industry report showed domestic output remained high and commercial fuel inventories at generous levels in the world’s biggest consumer of crude.
US crude output edged up to a record 9.6 million barrels a day in the week to June 19, while stockpiles stayed at a near-record 463 million barrels.
Heading into the weekend, the focus was on Greece and Iran.
Crude investors were weighing the “potential negative impact from Greece’s debt crisis on European energy demand,” Singapore’s United Overseas Bank said in a market commentary.
Dealers are also keeping a close watch as Iran and major Western powers race to agree a deal also by Tuesday that would see Tehran open up its nuclear program to allay concerns it is seeking atomic weapons, in return for the West lifting punishing economic sanctions.
However, efforts to finalize the historic nuclear deal with Iran remain stuck on several issues, diplomats from both sides said on Friday, as US Secretary of State John Kerry headed to Vienna for weekend talks.
Any agreement could result in Iranian crude returning to the world market, adding to an oversupply that sent prices plunging from more than US$100 a barrel last year.
By Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in August climbed to US$63.25 a barrel from US$62.66 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$59.59 a barrel compared with US$59.40 a barrel for the expired July contract one week earlier.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold came under pressure from a robust US dollar, which made the metal more expensive for holders of rival currencies.
The euro dropped to US$1.1130 on Friday — the lowest level for almost three weeks.
By Friday on the London Bullion Market, the price of gold dropped to US$1,170.50 an ounce from US$1,203.40 a week earlier.
Silver declined to US$15.83 an ounce from US$16.12.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum edged down to US$1,074 an ounce from US$1,085.
Palladium retreated to US$676 an ounce from US$718.
BASE METALS: Prices mostly fell as investors tracked Chinese data and its impact on demand.
HSBC’s report on Chinese manufacturing came in at its strongest for three months. The preliminary purchasing managers’ index stood at 49.6 this month. While it is still below the break-even point of 50, it beat last month’s final reading of 49.2.
By Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose to US$5,758.50 a tonne from US$5,667.50 a week earlier.
Three-month aluminum rose to US$1,709.50 a tonne from US$1,690.50, while three-month lead edged down to US$1,787 a tonne from US$1,792 and three-month tin decreased to US$14,865 a tonne from US$15,210.
STRONG INTEREST: Analysts have pointed to optimism in TSMC’s growth prospects in the artificial intelligence era as the cause of the rising number of shareholders The number of people holding shares of chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) hit a new high last week despite a decline in its stock price, the Taiwan Depository and Clearing Corp (TDCC, 台灣集保) said. The number of TSMC shareholders rose to 2.46 million as of Friday, up 75,536 from a week earlier, TDCC data showed. The stock price fell 1.34 percent during the same week to close at NT$1,840 (US$57.55). The decline in TSMC’s share price resulted from volatility in global tech stocks, driven by rising international crude oil prices as the war against Iran continues. Dealers said
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China is clamping down on fertilizer exports to protect its domestic market, industry sources said, putting an additional strain on global markets that were already grappling with shortages caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran. China is among the largest fertilizer exporters — shipping more than US$13 billion of it last year — and it has a history of controlling exports to keep prices low for farmers. Shipments through the war-blocked Strait of Hormuz account for about one-third of the sea-borne supply. This month, Beijing banned exports of nitrogen-potassium fertilizer blends and certain phosphate varieties, sources said. The ban, which has not
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