Oil prices endured a roller-coaster week, with an upbeat economic growth forecast for the world economy giving way to concerns over Chinese output.
Commodity markets traders balanced the IMF’s global growth forecast upgrades against news that manufacturing activity in key commodity consumer China shrank this month for the first time in six months.
“Business surveys ... suggest that the eurozone recovery gained momentum in January, while China’s manufacturing slowdown has continued,” analysts at consultancy Capital Economics said.
Photo: Reuters
OIL: New York prices on Thursday jumped to US$97.84 a barrel, the highest level since Jan. 2, helped in part by a sliding US dollar that can make commodities priced in the US unit cheaper for buyers holding rival currencies.
However, crude futures declined on Friday, mirroring sentiment across equity markets, with traders banking recent profits amid strains across emerging markets, including China and Turkey, analysts said.
“The strong rebound of the WTI oil contract has been a result of the weaker US dollar that provided strong support to the market,” analyst Myrto Sokou at Sucden brokers said.
The oil market won support this week also on upgrades to economic growth forecasts from the IMF and crude demand growth predictions from the International Energy Agency.
The IMF lifted its estimate for world economic growth on Tuesday by 0.1 percentage point to 3.7 percent for this year, hiking its global forecast for the first time in two years.
The optimistic outlook was fueled by solid growth in the US as other countries also move away from austerity budgets.
In a further boost, the International Energy Agency also raised its prediction of global oil demand, which is dependent on the strength of the world economy.
And on Thursday, the US dollar sank against the euro as Markit Economics said its eurozone composite purchasing managers index for this month rose to 53.2 points from 52.1 last month.
That was the seventh monthly increase running and the fastest rate of growth since June 2011. A number above 50 denotes expansion.
By Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March rose to US$107.24 a barrel from US$106.73 a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate or light sweet crude for March stood at US$96.64 a barrel compared with US$94.29 for the expired February contract a week earlier.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold prices rebounded, winning strength from the flagging US dollar and haven demand amid losses on Wall Street.
“A rare combination of plunging stocks and US dollar has seen precious metals rally,” Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada said.
“The greenback has retreated viciously on the back of mostly disappointing US data and some cheerful manufacturing PMIs out of Europe which have given the euro a shot in the arm,” Razaqzada said.
The US stock market fell heavily on Thursday after the poor Chinese data, sending investors fleeing for gold, which is regarded as a haven.
By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, the price of gold rose to US$1,267 an ounce from US$1,250 a week earlier.
Silver rose to SU$20.19 an ounce from US$20.01.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum dipped to US$1,443 an ounce from US$1,447.
Palladium slipped to US$745 an ounce from US$747.
BASE METALS: Base or industrial metals prices dropped following the disappointing Chinese data.
HSBC’s China manufacturing sector purchasing managers index fell to 49.6, below the line between growth and contraction, raising concerns that the world’s second-largest economy is still trying to find its footing.
By Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months slid to US$7,210.50 a tonne from US$7,302.25 week earlier.
Three-month aluminum fell to US$1,768 a tonne from US$1,808.
Three-month lead retreated to US$2,152 a tonne from US$2,191.
Three-month tin slid to US$22,000 a tonne from US$22,301.
Three-month nickel dipped to US$14,553 a tonne from US$14,560.
Three-month zinc declined to US$2,027 a tonne from US$2,066.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his