Gold prices struck record highs close to US$1,300 this week as investors sought alternatives to the US dollar amid heightened fears about the fragile state of the US economic recovery.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold prices hit an all-time peak of US$1,282.97 an ounce on Friday as the US dollar waned on mounting expectations that the US Federal Reserve will pump more money into the US economy.
Silver meanwhile struck the highest levels in two-and-a-half years, at US$20.99 an ounce, on the back of gold’s record run higher.
Gold this week broke June’s record of US$1,265 an ounce.
By late on Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold had jumped to US$1,274.00 an ounce from US$1,246.50 a week earlier.
Silver grew to US$20.85 an ounce from US$19.90.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum rallied to US$1,618 an ounce from US$1,545.
Palladium advanced to US$547 an ounce from US$518.
OIL: Crude traded mixed as supply disruptions gave way to concerns over weak demand.
By late on Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November stood at US$77.89 a barrel compared with US$77.63 for the October contract a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, Texas light sweet crude for October fell to US$73.76 a barrel compared with US$75.86.
BASE METALS: Industrial metals advanced across the board.
By late on Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose to US$7,723 a tonne from US$7,555.
GRAINS AND SOYA: Maize, or corn, prices hit the highest levels in nearly two years on supply worries amid keen demand.
By Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, maize for delivery in December gained to US$5.06 a bushel from US$4.78 the previous week.
Wheat for December fell to US$7.31 a bushel from US$7.36.
November-dated soyabean meal — used in animal feed — rose to US$10.58 a bushel from US$10.31.
COFFEE: Coffee futures rallied in London, but fell in New York a week after striking 13-year highs on keen demand from speculators.
By Friday on the New York Board of Trade, Arabica for delivery in December fell to US$1.9075 a pound (0.45kg) from US$1.9260 the previous week.
On London’s futures exchange, Robusta for November jumped to US$1,660 a tonne from US$1,588.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2