Gold blazed a record-breaking trail above US$1,123 this week owing to buoyant equities and the weak greenback, which makes it cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies and tends to boost demand.
Elsewhere, crude dived close to one-month lows as oil traders switched focus to weak demand and rising inventories in key energy consuming nation the US, analysts said.
PRECIOUS METALS: The price of gold surged to an all-time pinnacle of US$1,123.38 per ounce here on Thursday.
“The metal remained supported by stronger equities and the weaker dollar,” said James Moore, analyst at the specialist metals Web site TheBullionDesk.com.
The metal also won support from fears over a possible spike in inflation, as gold is widely regarded by investors as a safe store of value.
Gold, which has risen more than 20 percent in value this year, has a bright future thanks to improving demand caused by the financial crisis, according to industry experts.
However, the glamorous commodity pared gains ahead of the weekend as many traders cashed in profits.
“The rally in gold looks exhausted at current levels as traders talk of taking money off the table ahead of the weekend,” ETX Capital trader Manoj Ladwa said. “While the long-term trend remains in place, some are happy booking a profit in case of any sharp sell-off.”
By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold rose to US$1,104 an ounce from US$1,096.75 a week earlier.
Silver slid to US$17.32 an ounce from US$17.52.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum was unchanged at US$1,359 an ounce at the late fixing on Friday from the previous week.
Palladium climbed to US$354 an ounce from US$330.
OIL: World oil prices sank heavily this week as traders fretted over weak US energy demand, and despite news that the eurozone has officially emerged from recession.
“Prices fall to their lowest level in almost a month, pressurized by a bearish set of US weekly oil data,” Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish said in a research note to clients. “Yesterday’s US data shows a continuation of the trend that has now been in place for a while, whereby the supply system tries to adjust to continued weak demand.”
Crude futures had slumped on Thursday on a huge jump in US crude stockpiles indicating weaker US demand for oil. New York crude had dropped US$2.34 and London Brent oil shed US$1.93.
The US Department of Energy said US crude oil reserves surged 1.8 million barrels in the week ending last Friday, more than the 200,000 barrels anticipated by the market.
GRAINS AND SOYA: Prices rose in choppy deals as traders tracked weather conditions in the United States.
“We continue to have a choppy market,” analyst Jason Roose at US Commodities said. “If we continue to see good weather ... we could see weakness in the market.”
By Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, maize for delivery in December rose to US$3.91 a bushel from US$3.67 a week earlier.
January-dated soyabean meal — used in animal feed — climbed to US$9.99 from US$9.55.
Wheat for December increased to US$5.38 a bushel from US$4.97.
PLA MANEUVERS: Although Beijing has yet to formally announce military drills, its coast guard vessels have been spotted near and around Taiwan since Friday The Taiwanese military is on high alert and is closely monitoring the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) air and naval deployments after Beijing yesterday reserved seven airspace areas east of its Zhejiang and Fujian provinces through Wednesday. Beijing’s action was perceived as a precursor to a potential third “Joint Sword” military exercise, which national security experts said the PLA could launch following President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visits to the nation’s three Pacific allies and stopovers in Hawaii and Guam last week. Unlike the Joint Sword military exercises in May and October, when Beijing provided detailed information about the affected areas, it
CHINA: The activities come amid speculation that Beijing might launch military exercises in response to Lai’s recent visit to Pacific allies The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said China had nearly doubled the number of its warships operating around the nation in the previous 24 hours, ahead of what security sources expect would be a new round of war games. China’s military activities come amid speculation Beijing might organize military drills around the nation in response to President William Lai’s (賴清德) recent visit to Pacific allies, including stops in Hawaii and Guam, a US territory. Lai returned from the week-long trip on Friday night. Beijing has held two rounds of war games around Taiwan this year, and sends ships and military planes
Five flights have been arranged to help nearly 2,000 Taiwanese tourists return home from Okinawa after being stranded due to cruise ship maintenance issues, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced yesterday. China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) have arranged five flights with a total of 748 additional seats to transport 1,857 passengers from the MSC Bellissima back to Taiwan, the ministry said. The flights have been scheduled for yesterday and today by the Civil Aviation Administration, with the cruise operator covering all associated costs. The MSC Bellissima, carrying 4,341 passengers, departed from Keelung on Wednesday last week for Okinawa,
China is deploying its largest navy fleet in regional waters in nearly three decades, posing a threat to Taiwan that is more pronounced than previous Chinese war games, the Ministry of National Defense said today. Speaking in Taipei, ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang (孫立方) said the scale of the current Chinese naval deployment in an area running from the southern Japanese islands down into the South China Sea was the largest since China held war games around Taiwan ahead of 1996 Taiwanese presidential elections. China's military has yet to comment and has not confirmed it is carrying out any exercises. "The current scale is
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