Commodity markets enjoyed mixed fortunes this week as traders eyed growing speculation over a full bailout of debt-plagued Spain and amid rising doubts over the US Federal Reserve’s stimulus plan.
Spain unveiled on Friday the full cost of rescuing its troubled banks, seen by investors as one of the final steps before a looming sovereign bailout.
The nation’s stricken banks need 59.3 billion euros (US$76 billion) to fix balance sheets hammered by a 2008 property crash, an independent audit showed.
It comes one day after the Spanish government unveiled an austerity budget of 39 billion euros to rein in the public deficit.
OIL: New York crude plunged close to a two-month low under US$89 per barrel on eurozone woes, but prices finished the week on a mixed note.
West Texas Intermediate dived to US$88.95 on Wednesday, hitting the lowest level since Aug. 3.
The market has since recovered somewhat, helped by a weaker US dollar, steps taken by Spain to help reduce its debt mountain and on easing Middle East tensions, analysts said.
Oil prices also won some support from Middle East tensions traders said.
“By late Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November increased to US$111.77 a barrel from US$110.37 a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) or light sweet crude for November retreated to US$91.78 a barrel, from US$93.09 a week earlier.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold and silver lost ground as dealers took profits from recent multimonth peaks and tracked worries over Chinese and European demand.
“Gold and silver prices have continued to be swayed by investor sentiment and the macro environment,” Barclays Capital analysts said in a research note.
Meanwhile, the world’s top platinum producer, Anglo American Platinum, on Thursday launched disciplinary procedures against thousands of striking miners emboldened by a big pay hike won by workers at another South African mine.
By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold dipped to US$1,776 an ounce from US$1,784.50 a week earlier.
Silver eased to US$34.65 an ounce from US$34.69.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum increased to US$1,668 an ounce from US$1,642.
Palladium slid to US$642 an ounce from US$672.
BASE METALS: Base or industrial metals diverged, having fallen earlier in the week on eurozone woes, but the outlook remains upbeat according to analysts.
By late Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months slid to US$8,250 a tonne from US$8,283 a week earlier.
Three-month aluminum rose to US$2,123 a tonne from US$2,106. Three-month lead gained to US$2,300 a tonne from US$2,283.
Three-month tin climbed to US$21,700 a tonne from US$20,825. Three-month nickel grew to US$18,576 a tonne from US$18,086.
Three-month zinc eased to US$2,120 a tonne from US$2,124.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
Pegatron Corp (和碩), an iPhone assembler for Apple Inc, is to spend NT$5.64 billion (US$186.82 million) to acquire HTC Corp’s (宏達電) factories in Taoyuan and invest NT$578.57 million in its India subsidiary to expand manufacturing capacity, after its board approved the plans on Wednesday. The Taoyuan factories would expand production of consumer electronics, and communication and computing devices, while the India investment would boost production of communications devices and possibly automotive electronics later, a Pegatron official told the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday. Pegatron expects to complete the Taoyuan factory transaction in the third quarter, said the official, who declined to be
RSS