Crude oil prices dived this week on fresh concerns about the pace of US economic recovery, while gold slid back under US$1,000 per ounce on profit-taking.
“It looks like there is a flood of money out of commodities,” said Ellis Eckland, an independent oil trader. “Investors want to get to the exit as soon as possible; they feel that the real economy is weak.”
Elsewhere, traders eyed the G20 nations’ two-day summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that began on Thursday.
OIL: Crude oil prices slumped on evidence of weak energy demand in the US.
The market had shed more than US$3 on Thursday as mixed US economic data and signs of sluggish oil demand highlighted fears about a tepid recovery from the global recession.
By Friday on the London InterContinental Exchange (ICE), Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November sank to US$65.38 a barrel from US$71.25 a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), light sweet crude for November slid to US$66.62 from US$72.07 for the now-expired October contract a week earlier.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold prices retreated as traders cashed in gains from last week’s strong rally which saw the precious metal climb within a whisker of a record high.
Gold sank as low as US$985.28 per ounce on Friday, which was the lowest point for more than two weeks. By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold fell to US$991.50 an ounce from US$1,012 a week earlier.
Silver slid to US$16.20 an ounce from US$17.11.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum eased to US$1,330 an ounce at the late fixing on Friday from US$1,337.
BASE METALS: Base metals prices mostly fell amid concerns about Chinese demand tailing off.
By Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months sank to US$5,928 a tonne from US$6,220 a week earlier. Three-month aluminum fell to US$1,832 a tonne from US$1,929.
The Taipei MRT is open all night tonight following New Year’s Eve festivities, and is offering free rides from nearby Green Line stations. Taipei’s 2025 New Year’s Eve celebrations kick off at Taipei City Hall Square tonight, with performances from the boy band Energy, the South Korean girl group Apink, and singers Gigi Leung (梁詠琪) and Faith Yang (楊乃文). Taipei 101’s annual New Year’s firework display follows at midnight, themed around Taiwan’s Premier12 baseball championship. Estimates say there will be about 200,000 people in attendance, which is more than usual as this year’s celebrations overlap with A-mei’s (張惠妹) concert at Taipei Dome. There are
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday vowed to investigate claims made in a YouTube video about China’s efforts to politically influence young Taiwanese and encourage them to apply for Chinese ID cards. The council’s comments follow Saturday’s release of a video by Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源) and YouTuber “Pa Chiung (八炯)” on China’s “united front” tactics. It is the second video on the subject the pair have released this month. In the video, Chen visits the Taiwan Youth Entrepreneurship Park in Quanzhou in China’s Fujian Province and the Strait Herald news platform in Xiamen, China. The Strait Herald — owned by newspaper
NEW YEAR’S ADDRESS: ‘No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path,’ William Lai said, urging progress ‘without looking back’ President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday urged parties across the political divide to democratically resolve conflicts that have plagued domestic politics within Taiwan’s constitutional system. In his first New Year’s Day address since becoming president on May 20 last year, Lai touched on several issues, including economic and security challenges, but a key emphasis was on the partisan wrangling that has characterized his first seven months in office. Taiwan has transformed from authoritarianism into today’s democracy and that democracy is the future, Lai said. “No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path for Taiwan,” he said. “The only choice
CORRUPTION: Twelve other people were convicted on charges related to giving illegal benefits, forgery and money laundering, with sentences ranging from one to five years The Yilan District Court yesterday found Yilan County Commissioner Lin Zi-miao (林姿妙) guilty of corruption, sentencing her to 12 years and six months in prison. The Yilan District Prosecutors’ Office in 2022 indicted 10 government officials and five private individuals, including Lin, her daughter and a landowner. Lin was accused of giving illegal favors estimated to be worth NT$2.4 million (US$73,213) in exchange for using a property to conduct activities linked to the 2020 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential and legislative election campaigns. Those favors included exempting some property and construction firms from land taxes and building code contraventions that would have required
RSS