Global commodity markets traded mixed this week as dealers reacted to global demand expectations for raw materials.
OIL: World crude prices diverged as traders seized on news of demand forecasts from major global energy organizations and reacted to positive US economic data.
Weighing on prices “are the demand forecasts of the three leading oil agencies,” Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said. “Without increased demand or a further cut in OPEC production, the global oil market will thus remain oversupplied, which may explain why oil prices have underperformed equity markets of late.”
The International Energy Agency this week eased its global forecast for growth in world oil demand for the second straight month, underscoring the effects of uncertainty from the US budget talks, sluggish Chinese business activity and unemployment in Europe.
The Paris-based agency estimated that demand for oil would total 90.6 million barrels a day this year, a cut of 60,000 barrels from its forecast last month.
OPEC on Tuesday stood pat on its crude demand forecast for the year, but raised its outlook for production growth by non-OPEC suppliers by 11 percent to 1 million barrels a day.
The cartel, which accounts for about 35 percent of global supply, expects global demand to be 89.7 million barrels per day this year, a rise of 0.8 million from last year.
The US Energy Information Agency on Tuesday lowered its forecast for the average West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent prices this year.
By late Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in May stood at US$109.90 a barrel compared with US$110.03 for last month’s expired contract a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI, or light sweet crude, for next month gained to US$93.48 a barrel from US$91.21.
PRECIOUS METALS: Precious metals rose across the board, with palladium and platinum boosted by higher car sales in China. The sister metals are used in the manufacture of catalytic converters.
Auto sales in China, the world’s top car market, rose in the first two months of the year, an industry group said, indicating strong demand as the country’s economy gradually recovers.
By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, the price of gold grew to US$1,595.50 an ounce from US$1,581.75 a week earlier, while silver gained to US$28.91 an ounce from US$28.78.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum increased to US$1,593 an ounce from US$1,588 and palladium climbed to US$774 an ounce from US$769.
COCOA: Cocoa futures gained ground as traders bet that low prices would spark stronger demand.
By Friday on LIFFE, London’s futures exchange, cocoa for delivery in May rose to ￡1,443 a tonne from ￡1,404 a week earlier.
On New York’s NYBOT-ICE exchange, cocoa for May increased to US$2,140 a tonne from US$2,093.
WEAKER ACTIVITY: The sharpest deterioration was seen in the electronics and optical components sector, with the production index falling 13.2 points to 44.5 Taiwan’s manufacturing sector last month contracted for a second consecutive month, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipping to 48, reflecting ongoing caution over trade uncertainties, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The decline reflects growing caution among companies amid uncertainty surrounding US tariffs, semiconductor duties and automotive import levies, and it is also likely linked to fading front-loading activity, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “Some clients have started shifting orders to Southeast Asian countries where tariff regimes are already clear,” Lien told a news conference. Firms across the supply chain are also lowering stock levels to mitigate
Six Taiwanese companies, including contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), made the 2025 Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s largest firms by revenue. In a report published by New York-based Fortune magazine on Tuesday, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), ranked highest among Taiwanese firms, placing 28th with revenue of US$213.69 billion. Up 60 spots from last year, TSMC rose to No. 126 with US$90.16 billion in revenue, followed by Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) at 348th, Pegatron Corp (和碩) at 461st, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) at 494th and Wistron Corp (緯創) at
NEW PRODUCTS: MediaTek plans to roll out new products this quarter, including a flagship mobile phone chip and a GB10 chip that it is codeveloping with Nvidia Corp MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday projected that revenue this quarter would dip by 7 to 13 percent to between NT$130.1 billion and NT$140 billion (US$4.38 billion and US$4.71 billion), compared with NT$150.37 billion last quarter, which it attributed to subdued front-loading demand and unfavorable foreign exchange rates. The Hsinchu-based chip designer said that the forecast factored in the negative effects of an estimated 6 percent appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar against the greenback. “As some demand has been pulled into the first half of the year and resulted in a different quarterly pattern, we expect the third quarter revenue to decline sequentially,”
ASE Technology Holding Co (ASE, 日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip assembly and testing service provider, yesterday said it would boost equipment capital expenditure by up to 16 percent for this year to cope with strong customer demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Aside from AI, a growing demand for semiconductors used in the automotive and industrial sectors is to drive ASE’s capacity next year, the Kaohsiung-based company said. “We do see the disparity between AI and other general sectors, and that pretty much aligns the scenario in the first half of this year,” ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu (吳田玉) told an
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