Gold rocketed to an all-time high this week after China announced that it would relax its currency’s peg to the US dollar, while coffee scored a 12-year peak on the back of tight supplies.
After initial gains on the China news, many commodities slid as downbeat US data highlighted a faltering US economy and sparked questions about the outlook for demand in the world’s biggest energy consuming nation.
PRECIOUS METALS: The price of gold soared to a new historic record of US$1,265.30 per ounce at the start of the week.
“Gold opened Monday in a steady mood, holding ground above 1,255 across the early part of the day and setting a fresh peak of 1,265.30,” said analyst James Moore at specialist metals Web site TheBullionDesk.com.
By late on Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold prices were at US$1,254 an ounce from US$1,256 the previous week.
Silver eased to US$18.65 an ounce from US$18.77.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum slipped to US$1,549 an ounce from US$1,578.
Palladium declined to US$466 an ounce from US$484.
OIL: Crude oil had rallied on Monday after China announced that it would relax the yuan’s US dollar peg, and also ended the week higher on supply fears about stormy weather in the Caribbean.
The booming export-geared Chinese economy is leading the global recovery from recession and is considered the key driver of energy demand as the world’s second-largest oil-consuming nation, after the US.
The oil market pulled back on Tuesday as renewed economic recovery concerns resurfaced.
By late on Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Texas light sweet crude for delivery in August rose to US$78.55 a barrel from US$77.26 for the July contract one week earlier.
On the Intercontinental Exchange in London, Brent North Sea crude for August delivery eased to US$78.00 from US$78.49.
BASE METALS: Base metal prices mainly rose, boosted by positive news from China.
By Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose to US$6,630 a tonne from US$6,365 a week earlier.
Three-month aluminum edged up to US$1,976 a tonne from US$1,960.
COFFEE: Coffee surged to a 12-year pinnacle in New York, propelled by simmering worries over tight supplies.
“Prices ... are at their loftiest level in 12 years, with continued concerns on low stocks and supply tightness from Central America outweighing expectations of a record Brazilian harvest in the second half,” Barclays Capital analyst Sudakshina Unnikrishnan said.
In New York, Arabica for September jumped to US$1.7650 a pound (0.45kg) — striking a level that was last seen in February 1998.
By Friday on LIFFE — London’s futures exchange — Robusta for delivery in September jumped to US$1,667 a tonne from US$1,560 the previous week.
On the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), Arabica for July advanced to US$1.6730 a pound from US$1.6055.
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
RSS