Gold hit a record peak close to US$1,400 an ounce and oil struck the highest level since late 2008 this week after the US Federal Reserve agreed to pump the world’s biggest economy with fresh stimulus.
Sugar prices reached levels not seen for nearly 30 years on supply concerns.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold hit a record high of US$1,398.25 an ounce on Friday and in its wake, sister metal silver nailed a 30-year peak of US$26.90 an ounce.
“Currency wars, quantitative easing and global economic uncertainty all pose risks to investors. To protect themselves, many have sought the safety of gold,” said Anthony Grech, an analyst at trading firm IG Index. “Silver has the potential to continue outperforming gold, with the metal likely to be driven by increasing industrial use and investment demand.”
By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold surged to US$1,395.50 an ounce at the late fixing, from US$1,346.77 a week earlier.
Silver advanced to US$26.14 an ounce from US$23.96.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum rallied to US$1,764 an ounce from US$1,700.
Palladium increased to US$687 an ounce from US$640.
OIL: Oil prices rocketed, reaching two-year highs on Friday in New York. Ahead of positive US jobs data, New York crude struck US$87.22 a barrel — the highest point since October 2008. In London, Brent crude oil reached a six-month high of US$88.80.
Oil was rallying “thanks to increased investor risk appetite and the weaker US dollar,” the Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a report.
“The US Federal Reserve’s announcement ... boosted commodity market sentiment and supported prices across the board,” it added.
By late Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in December soared to US$88.10 a barrel from US$82.10 a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, Texas light sweet crude for December surged to US$86.77 a barrel from US$83.31.
BASE METALS: Copper reached the highest levels in more than two years, at US$8,769 a tonne.
“The Fed’s decision to buy more US treasuries ... has been interpreted in the case of metals to mean that economic growth in the US will be supported in every possible way and thus also the demand for commodities,” analysts at Commerzbank said.
By late Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months jumped to US$8,730 a tonne from US$8,198 a week earlier.
Three-month aluminum grew to US$2,466 a tonne from US$2,340.
SUGAR: Sugar futures hit the highest point in almost three decades in New York trade on Friday.
The price of unrefined sugar for delivery in March jumped to US$0.3230 a pound (0.45kg) — the best level since January 1981.
A tonne of white sugar reached a 23 year peak of ￡788 a tonne in London.
Sugar, which has shot up by 140 percent since May, is used mainly in the food and drinks sector, but is also used for the production of ethanol — a cheaper version of gasoline, or motor fuel.
In recent weeks and months, sugar has also rocketed higher as floods and droughts hamper production of the widely used raw material.
By Friday on the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), the price of unrefined sugar for delivery in March jumped to US$0.3181 a pound from US$0.2909 a week earlier.
On LIFFE — London’s futures exchange — the price of a tonne of white sugar for December rallied to ￡776 from ￡723.20.
COFFEE: Coffee prices reached multi-year peaks owing to tight supplies.
“Low stock levels and delays in harvesting in a number of countries due to extended rains will continue to intensify concerns about short-term market supply,” the International Coffee Organization said this week.
By Friday on NYBOT, Arabica for delivery in December stood at US$2.0420 a pound compared with US$2.0260 the previous week.
On LIFFE, Robusta for January gained to US$1,981 a tonne from US$1,959.
COCOA: Cocoa futures dropped amid abundant supplies of the commodity.
By Friday On NYBOT, cocoa for delivery in December fell to US$2,720 a tonne from US$2,801 a week earlier. On LIFFE, cocoa for December weakened to ￡1,795 a tonne from ￡1,858.
GRAINS AND SOYA: Soya prices struck fresh two-year highs.
By Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, January-dated soyabean meal stood at US$12.79 a bushel from US$12.36.
Maize for delivery in December climbed to US$5.88 a bushel from US$5.82 the previous week.
Wheat for December was flat at US$7.17.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is planning to break ground on its third wafer fab in the US in June. In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation, but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well. TSMC is investing more than US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first one has started production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process, while the second one would start mass production using the
A TAIWAN DEAL: TSMC is in early talks to fully operate Intel’s US semiconductor factories in a deal first raised by Trump officials, but Intel’s interest is uncertain Broadcom Inc has had informal talks with its advisers about making a bid for Intel Corp’s chip-design and marketing business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Nothing has been submitted to Intel and Broadcom could decide not to pursue a deal, according to the Journal. Bloomberg News earlier reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is in early talks for a controlling stake in Intel’s factories at the request of officials at US President Donald Trump’s administration, as the president looks to boost US manufacturing and maintain the country’s leadership in critical technologies. Trump officials raised the
‘SILVER LINING’: Although the news caused TSMC to fall on the local market, an analyst said that as tariffs are not set to go into effect until April, there is still time for negotiations US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would likely impose tariffs on semiconductor, automobile and pharmaceutical imports of about 25 percent, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2 in a move that would represent a dramatic widening of the US leader’s trade war. “I probably will tell you that on April 2, but it’ll be in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club when asked about his plan for auto tariffs. Asked about similar levies on pharmaceutical drugs and semiconductors, the president said that “it’ll be 25 percent and higher, and it’ll
CHIP BOOM: Revenue for the semiconductor industry is set to reach US$1 trillion by 2032, opening up opportunities for the chip pacakging and testing company, it said ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), the world’s largest provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) services, yesterday launched a new advanced manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia, aiming to meet growing demand for emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The US$300 million facility is a critical step in expanding ASE’s global footprint, offering an alternative for customers from the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China to assemble and test chips outside of Taiwan amid efforts to diversify supply chains. The plant, the company’s fifth in Malaysia, is part of a strategic expansion plan that would more than triple
RSS