Oil prices faced sharp volatility this week amid stubborn oversupply concerns, while metals aimed higher as Chinese trading picked up following the Lunar New Year, dealers said.
Sentiment brightened partially on news that eurozone finance ministers backed an extension of Greece’s bailout lifeline.
Gains were tempered on Friday by news the US economy grew more slowly than expected in the final quarter of last year, expanding by 2.2 percent, down from the prior estimate of 2.6 percent.
Photo: Bloomberg
OIL: The market initially won support after Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi said on Wednesday that demand was growing and the market has turned “calm.”
Brent crude also gained ground on the back of supply-side tensions in Iraq and Libya. However, oil prices trimmed gains following fresh evidence of oversupply in the US, which is the world’s top crude consuming nation.
“Prices managed to get some support amid positive comments from OPEC’s kingpin Saudi Arabia’s al-Naimi, who said prices were stabilizing and that demand was growing,” analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov at Natural Resources Consulting said.
“However, US crude stockpiles continue to push higher amid refining strikes, weather-related disruptions and still ample production,” he said.
Saudi Arabia is the biggest and most influential member of the OPEC, which in November decided to maintain output levels despite global oversupply.
Crude futures dived on Thursday as the market appeared to do a double-take on Wednesday’s US inventories report, which showed US crude stockpiles hit a fresh record last week.
WTI sank US$2.82 in New York on Thursday, while Brent shed US$1.58 in London, in a delayed reaction by traders to a bigger-than-expected 9.4 million barrels increase in US crude stocks in the week to Feb. 20.
The US Department of Energy said on Wednesday US crude reserves now stand at a record 434.1 million barrels.
Prices rebounded on Friday on bargain-hunting, but New York crude held in negative territory over the course of the week.
The global oil market has lost about 50 percent of its value since June, weighed down by the global supply glut.
By Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in April rallied to US$61.67 a barrel from US$60.69 a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate or light sweet crude for April fell to US$48.94 a barrel from US$51.16 for the March contract a week earlier.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold and other precious metals rose as traders eyed the US dollar, which sank on Wednesday after US Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen hinted the central bank was in no hurry to raise US interest rates.
“Dovish remarks from US Fed Chair Janet Yellen, Chinese demand and renewed interest from investors are offering some support to gold prices after a month of lackluster performance,” analyst Ole Hansen at Saxo Bank said.
The struggling greenback makes US dollar-priced commodities cheaper for buyers using stonger currencies, which tends to stimulate demand and prices.
The precious metal also won support from its status as a haven in times of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
By Friday on the London Bullion Market, the price of gold climbed to US$1,214 an ounce from US$1,208.25 a week earlier.
Silver advanced to US$16.53 an ounce from US$16.34.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum increased to US$1,177 an ounce from US$1,166.
Palladium rose to US$808 from US$783 an ounce.
BASE METALS: Base or industrial metals were mixed in hesitant deals as traders in Asia returned after the Lunar New Year break.
“We now have Chinese market participants returning to work and this should begin to provide more direction to prices, especially as we start to enter the peak demand season which begins in March/April,” UniCredit analysts said.
By Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose to US$5,862 a tonne from US$5,679 a week earlier.
Three-month aluminum slid to US$1,810 a tonne from US$1,810.50, while three-month lead dropped to US$1,747 a tonne from US$1,776.50.
Three-month nickel declined to US$14,110 a tonne from US$14,130, while three-month tin grew to US$17,910 a tonne from US$17,880 and three-month zinc rose to US$2,068 a tonne from US$2,058.
COFFEE: Arabica struck a one-year low at US$1.4030 in New York, as the market was hit by the weak Brazilian currency and rainy weather.
“The weak Brazilian real is still acting as a strong incentive to sell,” Commerzbank analysts said.
By Friday on ICE Futures US, arabica for delivery in May slid to US$1.4365 a pound (0.45kg) from US$1.5380 a week earlier.
On LIFFE, robusta for May eased to US$1,886 a tonne from US$1,989.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
Popular vape brands such as Geek Bar might get more expensive in the US — if you can find them at all. Shipments of vapes from China to the US ground to a near halt last month from a year ago, official data showed, hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a crackdown on unauthorized e-cigarettes in the world’s biggest market for smoking alternatives. That includes Geek Bar, a brand of flavored vapes that is not authorized to sell in the US, but which had been widely available due to porous import controls. One retailer, who asked not to be named, because
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
RSS