Prices of raw materials, including oil and gold, rebounded this week on growing signs of economic recovery in the US and China, traders said.
Positive US bank earnings and strong growth data from China led investors to believe that the world economy was on course to drag itself free of the worst downturn in decades.
“The US reporting season for 2009 corporate earnings had a good start and recent macro-economic data was by and large better than expected,” analysts at Dresdner Kleinwort said in note to clients. “This alongside a high level of liquidity or large cash holdings at investment funds boosted both equity and commodities markets.”
OIL: Prices advanced for a third straight day on Friday, buoyed by positive US housing construction data that could provide a lift for the recession-mired economy.
New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, gained US$1.52 to close at US$63.56 a barrel from US$59.16 one week earlier.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for September delivery advanced US$1.63 to settle at US$65.38 a barrel, from US$59.80 a week earlier. The August contract expired on Thursday at US$62.75.
The New York futures contract, which showed little direction at the market opening, shot up more than 3 percent after the US Commerce Department reported construction starts on privately owned homes rose 3.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 582,000, the fastest pace since November.
PRECIOUS METALS: Precious metals advanced across the board.
“Precious metals remain very much at the mercy of the dollar and equity markets, with few independent drivers of their own,” said UBS analyst John Reade.
By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold rose to US$937.50 an ounce from US$913 a week earlier.
Silver climbed to US$13.16 an ounce from US$12.63.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum grew to US$1,165 an ounce at the late fixing on Friday, from US$1,095.
Palladium increased to US$245 an ounce from US$234.
BASE METALS: Base metals prices rallied. By Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months jumped to US$5,325 a tonne from US$4,890 a week earlier.
Three-month aluminum climbed to US$1,725 a tonne from US$1,574.
Three-month lead rose to US$1,675 a tonne from US$1,625.
GRAINS AND SOYA: Maize and soya prices fell as weather conditions in the US Midwest favored production. By Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, maize for delivery in December dropped to US$3.26 a bushel from US$3.38 a week earlier.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a