WORLD COMMODITIES TRADING
World oil prices spring back after heavy slump
Oil prices gained about 3% on Friday a day after recording their biggest daily drop in several years on US President Donald Trump’s vow to impose more tariffs on Chinese imports.
For the week, crude oil benchmarks recorded a loss.
Washington’s new tariffs on China, due to take effect on Sept. 1, intensify the trade war between the world’s top two economies. Any resulting economic slowdown could hurt crude demand.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures for October delivery settled at $61.89 a barrel, up $1.39, or 2.30%. The global benchmark slid more than 7% on Thursday, the steepest daily drop in more than three years.
WTI crude CLc1 futures for September delivery settled at $55.66 a barrel, rising $1.71, or 3.17%, after Thursday’s nearly 8% plunge, the biggest loss in more than four years. For the week, Brent lost about 2.7%, while WTI shed about 1.2%.
Before Thursday’s decline, crude futures had seen a fragile rally supported by steady drawdowns in US inventories but pressured by a shaky global demand outlook.
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Gold prices steady in a seesaw trade
Gold steadied on Friday in seesaw trade as the dollar retreated on lackluster US jobs data, putting bullion on course to notch its best week in six weeks following a surge of more than 2% in the previous session as US-China trade relations soured further.
Spot gold was steady at $1,444.86 per ounce at 01:41 p.m. EDT (1741 GMT), retracing earlier declines of about 1%. The yellow metal is up nearly 2% so far this week.
US gold futures settled 1.8% higher at $1,457.50.
Bullion rose more than 2% on Thursday after US President Donald Trump said he would slap an extra 10% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports and would raise it further if trade talks do not progress.
Separately, palladium fell 1.5 % to $1,403.41 per ounce, after breaking below the $1,400 level for the first time since mid-June to its lowest in more than seven weeks at $1,378.50. Platinum was up 0.3% at $846.30 per ounce, while silver fell 0.4% to $16.26 per ounce.
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Malaysian palm oil charts first monthly gain since January
Malaysian palm oil futures charted their first monthly gain since January at the close of trade on Wednesday, ending around a seven-week high on support from export data released by cargo surveyors.
The benchmark palm oil contract for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 0.4 percent at 2,070 ringgit ($501.82) a tonne at the end of the trading day, its sixth gain in seven sessions. It earlier rose to a seven-week peak of 2,075 ringgit, which was also its intraday high on Monday. Markets were closed on Tuesday for a public holiday. July Palm oil prices were up 6.1percent on the month after five consecutive months of losses. Palm oil could be peaking in a range of 2,076-2,083 ringgit a tonne, as suggested by a Fibonacci ratio analysis said.
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London copper moves higher
Copper prices in London rose on Wednesday ahead of an expected interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, but were on track to fall this month amid slowing growth from top consumer China.
The Fed is expected to lower interest rates on Wednesday for the first time in over a decade, which should support commodities prices by boosting growth and weakening the U.S. dollar, making metals cheaper for buyers with other currencies. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.2 percent to $5,958 a tonne by 0432 GMT, but is still heading for a monthly fall as the year-long US-China trade war weighed on global growth and metal demand.
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India 2019-20 cotton output estimate revised lower
Indian cotton production for the 2019-20 season is seen at 29 million 480 lb bales, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) attache in New Delhi said in a report on Wednesday, down 1 percent from earlier estimates.
The production decline is the result of reduced plantings in central Maharashtra, where farmers are shifting towards soybeans as well as in Karnataka, where farmers are switching to pulses and corn, the attache said. At 29 million bales, the anticipated 2019-20 output is down only slightly from the 29.3 million bales forecasted earlier this year, but still about 9percent larger than the 2018-19 crop.
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Chicago corn futures hit two-month low
Chicago corn futures had a dismal close on Wednesday and touched a two-month low as analysts said US crop weather was not threatening, while wheat and soybean prices also eased.
The Chicago Board of Trade’s (CBOT) most-active corn contract settled down 11 cents, or 2.7 percent, at $4.10 a bushel. The December contract traded to its lowest price since May 24. The weather outlook for the Midwest is generally favorable, with slightly below-normal temperatures ideal for reproductive corn and soybeans, although pockets of unfavorable dryness persist in the corn belt, according to a daily US Department of Agriculture (USDA) weather report.
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EU wheat weakens on harvest progress, export concerns
European Union wheat futures fell on Wednesday as low prices paid by Algeria at its latest tender highlighted the challenge of finding markets for a hefty incoming crop in western Europe.
Benchmark December on Euronext milling wheat futures settled 1percent lower at 179.75 euros ($199.92) a tonne, the weakest closing level since July 23. A dealer said technical support was now seen at 179.25 euros, the closing price on July 23. Algeria state grains agency OAIC bought 570,000 tonnes of optional-origin milling wheat at an average price of $215.50 a tonne, cost and freight included in a tender which closed on Tuesday, European traders said.
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Arabica coffee prices up after setting six-week low
Arabica coffee futures on ICE settled higher on Wednesday, rebounding off a six-week low, while New York cocoa fell for the seventh straight session.
September arabica coffee settled up 0.15 cent, or 0.2 percent no, at 99.65 cents per lb, after hitting 98.40, a six-week low. The contract fell 7.9 percent in July, its fourth negative monthly finish this year. The contract drifted lower to new six-week lows in post-settlement trade.
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Ice Canola futures keep falling
ICE canola futures dropped on Wednesday for the third straight day, in sympathy with soybeans after US and Chinese negotiators wrapped up trade talks without a deal. Negotiators put off their next meeting until September, extending an uneasy truce between the world’s two largest economies. November canola lost $4.90 to $443.50 per tonne. November-January canola spread traded 1,198 times. Chicago August soybeans slipped on diminishing hopes for a US-China trade deal.
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Raw sugar prices edge up as crude oil extends advance
Raw sugar futures on ICE edged higher on Wednesday, boosted partly by further gains in crude oil prices, while coffee and cocoa prices eased. October raw sugar rose 0.05 cents, or 0.4 percent, to 12.20 cents per lb by 1101 GMT. Oil prices rose for a fifth day on Wednesday, supported by a drop in US inventories and investor expectations that the US Federal Reserve will lower borrowing costs for the first time since the financial crisis more than a decade ago. Guesses are for a final sugar production figure of around 25.5 (million tonnes), compared to last year’s 26.5 (million tonnes). October white sugar was unchanged at $323 a tonne.ac