Gold prices shot above US$1,300 for the first time and silver nailed a 30-year high this week as traders exited the US currency for safe-haven investments on worries about fragile economic recovery.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold and silver rallied as investment demand propelled precious metals higher.
Gold prices struck a record-high US$1,300.07 an ounce on the London Bullion Market, helping to drag sister metal silver to US$21.44 an ounce — its highest level since October 1980.
“The underlying bullish trend in the gold market continues to be fueled by the high level of uncertainty regarding the United States and European economies,” SEB Commodity Research analyst Filip Petersson said.
By late on Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold rallied to US$1,297.00 an ounce from US$1,274.00 a week earlier.
Silver advanced to US$21.35 an ounce from US$20.85.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum jumped to US$1,645 an ounce from US$1,618.
OIL: Crude oil prices began the week with a bang, surging on Monday as the market followed stocks higher.
By late on Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November gained to US$79.38 a barrel from US$77.89 a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, Texas light sweet crude for November stood at US$76.56 a barrel compared with US$73.76 for the October contract.
BASE METALS: Base or industrial metals mostly rallied on the back of “the weak US dollar,” analysts at Commerzbank said.
By late on Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months jumped to US$7,966 a tonne from US$7,723.
GRAINS AND SOYA: Maize prices hit two-year highs and soya 15-month peaks on tight supplies.
Maize hit US$5.2375 a bushel — the highest level since September 2008 — before ending lower compared with a week earlier.
By Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, maize for delivery in December stood at US$5.10 a bushel from US$5.13 the previous week.
November-dated soyabean meal rose to US$11.15 a bushel from US$10.69 a week earlier.
Wheat for December fell to US$7.03 a bushel from US$7.39.
COTTON: Cotton prices reached above US$1 a pound (0.45kg) for the first time in 15 years.
A surge in demand for clothing in the developing world coupled with the devastating floods in Pakistan and a heavy monsoon season in China and India have made cotton a highly sought-after commodity.
By Friday in New York, cotton for December rose to US$0.9884 a pound from US$0.9879 a week earlier.
‘UNPRECEDENTED’: Taiwan’s envoy said that official wording framing Taiwan-China issues as not about unification or independence counters the narrative Beijing wants Use of the phrase “democratic Taiwan” by Germany’s new coalition government in official document shows that Taiwan-China issues are not about “independence” against “unification,” but about democracy against authoritarianism, Representative to Germany Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said yesterday. Germany’s Social Democratic Party, Free Democratic Party and the Greens — known as the “traffic light coalition” for their colors — on Wednesday inked a coalition agreement following elections on Sept. 26. The agreement, a blueprint for their governance for the next four years, mentions “Taiwan,” which is unprecedented, showing that the new German government is paying close attention to cross-strait peace and supports Taiwan’s
BIDEN NOD: A China watcher said that the inclusion of Taiwan is notable, as it is the only democratic state on the list that Washington does not officially recognize Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) and Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) are to attend the US-led Summit for Democracy on Dec. 9 and 10, the government said yesterday, after US President Joe Biden announced the list of guests for the virtual event. The US Department of State on Tuesday announced a list of 110 invited participants, including Taiwan, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan and the UK. China and Russia were not invited, and Beijing expressed anger at the decision to invite Taiwan. The summit is to revolve around three key themes: Defending against authoritarianism, addressing and fighting
‘BADGE OF HONOR’: Lithuanian lawmaker Dovile Sakaliene, who is on China’s travel ban list, said delegation members joked that they would be joining her on it soon A delegation led by the chairman of the Lithuanian Parliamentary Group for Relations with Taiwan yesterday arrived in Taipei to participate in a conference on democracy later this week. The group, led by Matas Maldeikis, a Lithuanian lawmaker and an outspoken critic of China, touched down at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 6:18am yesterday. Maldeikis said at the airport that he expected the trip to enhance understanding between Taiwan and Lithuania after cooperation between the two sides took a big step forward this past year. “This trip will be another step in understanding each other because we are dealing with the same challenges,”
GET A BOOST: After considering the potential for local outbreaks amid an increase in cases abroad, a committee recommended adolescents receive their second shots The level 2 COVID-19 alert is to be extended until Dec. 13, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced yesterday, as it advised people in six high-risk groups to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. It also recommended that adolescents aged 12 to 17 who had a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine receive a second shot. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the nationwide level 2 alert would remain in place for two more weeks from today. Chen said that during New Year’s events eating and drinking might be allowed in designated areas, while
RSS