Many commodity markets sank this week to fresh multimonth lows, as the US dollar surged to 22-month peaks against the euro on mounting fears that Greece could be heading for the eurozone exit.
The European single currency sank to US$1.2496 on Friday, touching a low last seen on July 6, 2010. The strong greenback makes US dollar-priced commodities more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies. That tends to pull prices lower.
OIL: The crude oil market tumbled as investors shunned risky assets after former Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos warned that Athens might leave the eurozone.
Brent North Sea crude struck US$105.03 per barrel on Thursday, touching the lowest point since Dec. 20. New York’s light sweet crude sank on Wednesday to US$89.28 a barrel, hitting the lowest level since Nov. 1.
By late Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in July dived to US$106.91 a barrel from US$107.40 for the June contract a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate or light sweet crude for June sank to US$90.99 from US$92.20.
PRECIOUS METALS: On the London Bullion Market, gold fell to US$1,569.50 an ounce from US$1,589.50 a week earlier.
Silver declined to US$28.24 an ounce from US$28.48.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum fell to US$1,456 an ounce from US$1,466.
Palladium slid to US$590 an ounce, from US$605 an ounce.
BASE METALS: Prices mostly dropped, with aluminum, copper, lead and nickel hitting their lowest levels for more than four months.
By late Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months fell to US$7,637 a tonne from US$7,716 a week earlier.
Three-month aluminum fell to US$2,014 a tonne from US$2,059, while three-month lead slipped to US$1,952 a tonne from US$1,964.
Three-month nickel declined to US$17,011 a tonne from US$17,153.
US SANCTIONS: The Taiwan tech giant has ended all shipments to China-based Sophgo Technologies after one of their chips was discovered in a Huawei phone Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo Technologies Ltd (算能科技) after a chip it made was found on a Huawei Technologies Co (華為) artificial intelligence (AI) processor, according to two people familiar with the matter. Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the people said. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on the Huawei product. Sophgo said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that it was in compliance with all laws
SPEED OF LIGHT: US lawmakers urged the commerce department to examine the national security threats from China’s development of silicon photonics technology US President Joe Biden’s administration on Monday said it is finalizing rules that would limit US investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology sectors in China that could threaten US national security. The rules, which were proposed in June by the US Department of the Treasury, were directed by an executive order signed by Biden in August last year covering three key sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain AI systems. The rules are to take effect on Jan. 2 next year and would be overseen by the Treasury’s newly created Office of Global Transactions. The Treasury said the “narrow
TECH TITANS: Nvidia briefly overtook Apple again on Friday after becoming the world’s largest company for a short period in June, as Microsoft fell to third place Nvidia Corp dethroned Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company on Friday following a record-setting rally in the stock, powered by insatiable demand for its specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Nvidia’s stock market value briefly touched US$3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s US$3.52 trillion, London Stock Exchange Group data showed. Nvidia ended the day up 0.8 percent, with a market value of US$3.47 trillion, while Apple’s shares rose 0.4 percent, valuing the iPhone maker at US$3.52 trillion. In June, Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company before it was overtaken by Microsoft Corp and Apple. The tech trio’s market capitalizations have been
Two scoops of pistachio, one of corruption. For years holidaymakers have guzzled Sicilian gelato at famous parlors in Palermo, unaware that the booming businesses were controlled by organized crime. The fraud was a textbook case for detectives trained to sniff out dirty money, but even with three mobster classics — a suspicious bankruptcy, a front man and a scheming “Godfather” — it took years for investigators to shut the operation down. The Brioscia brand, made up of two ice cream parlors, was thriving at the end of the 2010s, attracting locals and foreign visitors alike with its glittering gold stars on travel