Global oil prices rallied this week on strong US crude demand and tensions in Ukraine, while star performer palladium hit a three-year peak on supply fears in South Africa and Russia.
Base or industrial metals swung higher on bright manufacturing data in leading consumer China.
OIL: Crude futures jumped to multi-month peaks on Wednesday as traders reacted to tumbling crude reserves in the US.
New York crude struck a one-month peak at US$104.07 per barrel, while Brent forged a two-and-a-half-month high at US$110.55.
The US Department of Energy revealed American crude oil inventories plunged 7.2 million barrels in the week to May 16.
That shocked traders expecting a weekly gain of 700,000 barrels, after having seen stockpiles steadily mount for months and signalled keen demand in the world’s biggest crude consumer.
Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged Friday to respect the outcome of Ukraine’s presidential election this weekend, but said that it had descended into civil war.
In Libya, a renegade general’s bid to rid the country of Islamists has also alarmed oil investors fearing a further crippling of output.
More support came from Germany posting 0.8 percent growth in the first quarter — the biggest quarterly jump in three years.
By Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in July rose to US$110.39 per barrel from US$109.55 a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate or light sweet crude for July jumped to $104.39 a barrel compared with $101.83 a week earlier for the June contract.
PRECIOUS METALS: Palladium hit a three-year peak and platinum an eight-month high on mounting supply worries, with South Africa plagued by strikes.
South Africa accounts for 80 percent of the world’s platinum supply and nearly a third of its palladium.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum rose to US$1,483 an ounce from US$1,464, while palladium advanced to US$828 from US$816.
SUGAR: Prices fell on speculative selling after gains last week.
By Friday on LIFFE, London’s futures exchange, a tonne of white sugar for August sank to US$468.70 from US$492.70 a week earlier.
On ICE Futures US, unrefined sugar for July fell to US$0.1728 a pound (0.45kg) from US$0.1817.
DOLLAR CHALLENGE: BRICS countries’ growing share of global GDP threatens the US dollar’s dominance, which some member states seek to displace for world trade US president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday threatened 100 percent tariffs against a bloc of nine nations if they act to undermine the US dollar. His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRICS alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members and several other countries have expressed interest in joining. While the US dollar is by far the most-used currency in global business and has survived past challenges to its preeminence, members of the alliance and other developing nations say they are fed
LIMITED MEASURES: The proposed restrictions on Chinese chip exports are weaker than previously considered, following lobbying by major US firms, sources said US President Joe Biden’s administration is weighing additional curbs on sales of semiconductor equipment and artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips to China that would escalate the US crackdown on Beijing’s tech ambitions, but stop short of some stricter measures previously considered, said sources familiar with the matter. The restrictions could be unveiled as soon as next week, said the sources, who emphasized that the timing and contours of the rules have changed several times, and that nothing is final until they are published. The measures follow months of deliberations by US officials, negotiations with allies in Japan and the Netherlands, and
Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) yesterday said it expects any impact of new tariffs from US president-elect Donald Trump to hit the company less than its rivals, citing its global manufacturing footprint. Young Liu (劉揚偉), chairman of the contract manufacturer and key Apple Inc supplier, told reporters after a forum in Taipei that it saw the primary impact of any fresh tariffs falling on its clients because its business model is based on contract manufacturing. “Clients may decide to shift production locations, but looking at Foxconn’s global footprint, we are ahead. As a result, the impact on us is likely smaller compared to
TECH COMPETITION: The US restricted sales of two dozen types of manufacturing equipment and three software tools, and blacklisted 140 more Chinese entities US President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled new restrictions on China’s access to vital components for chips and artificial intelligence (AI), escalating a campaign to contain Beijing’s technological ambitions. The US Department of Commerce slapped additional curbs on the sale of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and chipmaking gear, including that produced by US firms at foreign facilities. It also blacklisted 140 more Chinese entities that it accused of acting on Beijing’s behalf, although it did not name them in an initial statement. Full details on the new sanctions and Entity List additions were to be published later yesterday, a US official said. The US “will
RSS