The price of oil raced to a 10-month peak in London this week and metals futures rallied strongly as the US dollar retreated on positive economic data, traders said.
Sugar meanwhile struck an all-time high in London, aided by a weaker dollar amid more positive signs of economic recovery and the commodity’s weak supply situation.
OIL: Brent North Sea crude for delivery in September hit US$76 a barrel on Thursday — the highest level since October. New York crude reached a five-week high of US$72.42 the same day.
On Friday official data showed the US unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to 9.4 percent last month as job losses in the month narrowed to 247,000.
By Friday on London’s InterContinental Exchange (ICE), Brent North Sea crude for delivery in September jumped to US$74.33 a barrel from US$69.52 a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), light sweet crude for September rallied to US$71.43 a barrel from US$66.83 one week earlier.
PRECIOUS METALS: Prices rose across the board, reaching multi-month peaks.
On Friday, a group of 19 European central banks announced they would cap gold sales at 2,000 tonnes over the next five years and stressed the importance of gold to the international monetary system.
By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold rose to US$956 an ounce from US$939 a week earlier.
Silver gained to US$14.65 an ounce from US$13.63.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum grew to US$1,260 an ounce at the late fixing on Friday from US$1,189.
Palladium advanced to US$271 an ounce from US$256.
SUGAR: The price of sugar reached a record high in London trading after jumping 25 percent in three weeks.
White sugar for delivery in October reached £537.30 a tonne — the highest level since the commodity was first traded under its current form in 1983.
In New York, unrefined sugar for October hit a 28-year high of US$0.2068 a pound.
By Friday on LIFFE, London’s futures exchange, the price of a tonne of white sugar for delivery in October grew to £493 from £475.70 a week earlier.
On the New York Board of Trade, the price of unrefined sugar for October climbed to US$0.1876 a pound from US$0.1834.
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
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