World oil prices sank lower this week on gloomy market forecasts, profit-taking and ever-present worries over the global supply glut, ahead of a producers’ meeting on Sept. 26 to 28.
The Paris-based International Energy Agency set the tone on Tuesday, warning that oil demand growth was slowing while supply was rising.
However, fresh data showing mounting US stockpiles of crude and products, and Libya’s pledge to sharply boost production and exports within weeks, added to the downward pressure on prices.
At the same time, Nigeria — Africa’s biggest crude producer — appears set to increase its oil exports, traders said.
On Friday in London trading, European benchmark Brent North Sea crude for November delivery slipped US$0.82 to US$45.77 per barrel from late Thursday.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in October slid US$0.88 to US$43.03 a barrel.
That left Brent down 4.5 percent for the week, while WTI lost 6.6 percent.
PRECIOUS METALS: Precious metals declined, with platinum heading for a seventh straight weekly loss, the longest run since 2013, and palladium set to record the worst slump since May.
Investors are losing interest as the popularity of electric cars, which use less platinum and palladium than gasoline-fueled vehicles, threatens demand for the metals used in auto pollution-control devices, SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP analyst John Meyer said.
Platinum for immediate delivery slid 1.8 percent to US$1,013.90 an ounce (28.3g) at 2:27pm in New York, according to Bloomberg generic pricing.
Palladium, which climbed 2.4 percent on Friday, headed for a fourth straight weekly drop.
The recent declines have put a halt to an earlier rally this year, paring this year’s gain to 14 percent. Investors have speculated that resilient automotive sales would boost consumption. The metal has also increased alongside gold, which is up more than 20 percent this year as the US Federal Reserve’s decision to delay raising interest rates further boosted the metals’ appeal as a store of value.
Gains in precious metals have slowed in the second half of this year amid mixed signals on rates from the Fed, which meets next week.
Gold futures for December delivery slid 0.6 percent to settle at US$1,310.20 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Silver futures also declined. Holdings in exchange-traded funds backed by gold declined 4.3 tonnes to 2,014.6 tonnes on Thursday, the lowest since July 29, data compiled by Bloomberg show
BASE METALS: Copper is at last getting a moment in the sun. Prices posted the biggest weekly gain in two months as the metal that has lagged behind its peers this year gets a boost from signs that demand may strengthen in China, the biggest consumer.
Copper analysts and traders remain bullish on the near-term outlook for prices after a slew of Chinese data fueled speculation demand would improve, according to a Bloomberg survey. Figures this week showed new credit surpassed estimates after readings for factory output, investment and retail sales also exceeded expectations.
The metal for delivery in three months rose 0.1 percent to US$4,788 a tonne at 5:51pm on the London Metal Exchange, leaving the weekly gain at 3.3 percent, the biggest increase since mid-July. By contrast, zinc — the top metals performer this year — posted its first back-to-back weekly drop since January.
Copper has advanced just 1.8 percent this year, the least among the six main base metals, amid speculation that growth in supply is topping demand to spur a surplus.
Anglo American PLC is resuming operations at its Los Bronces copper mine in central Chile after reaching a wage agreement to end a weeklong strike. In the next nine months, Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, is scheduled to negotiate new contracts with about 5,200 workers.
Zinc has rallied 38 percent this year amid forecasts for a worldwide deficit following mine depletions, and after some producers, including Glencore PLC, cut supply. The price — which rose to US$2,372 a tonne earlier this month, the highest since May last year — slid 0.7 percent to US$2,215 a tonne on Friday.
Copper stockpiles tracked by the London Metal Exchange fell for a fourth day, the longest declining streak since June 22. Prices of aluminum, nickel and tin advanced in London, while lead declined.
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