WORLD COMMODITIES TRADING
World oil prices post weekly loss
Oil prices fell on Friday and posted a weekly loss on a faster-than-expected recovery in Saudi output, while investors also worried about global crude demand amid slowing Chinese economic growth.
During a volatile session, Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell 83 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $61.91 a barrel, after dropping to a session low of $60.76 a barrel.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures fell 50 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $55.91 a barrel. It hit a session low of $54.75 a barrel.
Brent fell 3.7% for the week, its biggest weekly loss since early August. WTI lost 3.6%, its steepest loss since mid-July.
Crude futures fell along with other higher-risk assets after news the US government is considering the possibility of delisting Chinese companies from US exchanges, a source briefed on the matter said on Friday. The move would be a radical escalation of trade tensions between the US and China.
[divider style=”normal” top=”20″ bottom=”20″]
Gold prices down in Asia
Gold prices fell on Friday and was on track for its third weekly fall for the month, restrained as a slew of US economic data beat expectations and the dollar held near multi-week highs against major currencies.
Spot gold fell 0.4% to $1,499.22 per ounce in Asia trading of Friday, declining 1% for the week after a near 2% gain last week.
US gold futures were down 0.6% lower at $1,506.01 per ounce.
Spot gold may test a support at $1,488 per ounce, a break below which could cause a fall towards $1,446, according to Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.
Silver fell 1.34% to $17.56 per ounce, platinum down 0.2%, at $928.34 per ounce and palladium fell 0.5% to $1,659.54 per ounce.
[divider style=”normal” top=”20″ bottom=”20″]
Palladium sets all-time high on supply angst
Palladium prices hit an all-time high on Thursday on concerns over tight supplies of the autocatalyst metal due to possible labour issues in South African mines, while gold shed earlier gains on fresh hints of progress in the US-China trade dispute. Palladium climbed 3pc to $1,617 after hitting a record high of $1,621.55 earlier in the session. Palladium, used mainly in emissions-capping catalytic converters for automobiles, has risen about 28 percent so far this year. Meanwhile, gold pared early gains after a Bloomberg report said Trump administration officials have considered offering a limited trade deal to China that would delay or possibly roll back some tariffs, in exchange for assurances on intellectual property and agricultural purchases.
[divider style=”normal” top=”20″ bottom=”20″]
London copper dips ahead of FED rate decision
Copper prices fell on Wednesday as concern about economic growth and demand dominated sentiment, but rising hopes for a solution to a prolonged trade dispute between China and the United States limited losses. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.4percent at $5,798 a tonne at 0933 GMT. Prices of the metal used widely in the power and construction industries hit a 1-1/2-month high of $5,980 last week. Markets are also focused on the outcome of a two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve due later on Wednesday. Trump’s comments come two days before US and Chinese deputy trade negotiators are due to meet in Washington for the first in-person meetings in nearly two months.
[divider style=”normal” top=”20″ bottom=”20″]
[ads1]
Nickel mining indefinitely suspended in Southern Philippines
A nickel mining hub in the southern Philippines, which produces mostly high-grade material, has suspended extraction operations indefinitely as the regional government conducts an industry audit, a top government official told on Monday. The government of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has suspended operations of all four mining companies in its jurisdiction, said Environment, Natural Resources and Energy Minister Abdulraof Abdul Macacua. By next year, when Indonesia bans nickel ore exports, China is expected to rely mainly on the Philippines for supply of the material for stainless steel and electronic vehicle battery. Latest available industry data showed that 2.34 million wet metric tonnes (wmt) of high-grade ore, or nearly 90 percent of 2.66 million wmt of the high-grade material the Philippines exported to China in the first half of 2018 came from Tawi-Tawi.
[divider style=”normal” top=”20″ bottom=”20″]
India’s August palm oil imports jump to 11-month high
India’s palm oil imports in August rose 5 percent from a month earlier to an 11-month peak as lower prices prompted refiners to lift purchases for peak festive season, a leading trade body said on Friday.
Higher purchases by the world’s biggest edible oil importer could support palm oil prices that are under pressure due to sluggish demand. New Delhi imported 852,534 tonnes of palm oil in August, the highest since September 2018, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) said in a statement. India’s palm oil imports in the first 10 months of 2018/19 marketing year started on Nov. 1 rose 10.3 percent from a year ago to 7.75 million tonnes. India imports more than two-thirds of its edible oil needs, up from a third two decades ago, as local output has failed to match growing demand in Asia’s third biggest economy. Palm oil accounts for around two-thirds of total imports. The country’s soyoil imports surged 38 percent in August from a month earlier to 440,704 tonnes, the highest since July 2017. Sunflower oil imports in August rose 15 percent from a month earlier to 230,023 tonnes.
[divider style=”normal” top=”20″ bottom=”20″]
Malaysian palm oil firm, but suffer 3rd weekly fall on dismal demand
Malaysian palm oil futures closed marginally higher on Friday but the market suffered its third straight weekly decline due to weak demand. The benchmark palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange finished 0.2 percent higher at 2,193 ringgit ($526.78) per tonne. Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Sept. 1-10 fell 29 percent to 337,570 tonnes from 475,555 tonnes shipped during Aug. 1-10, cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance said on Wednesday.
On the technical front, palm oil may extend fall into a range of 2,148-2,166 ringgit per tonne, according to Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities technicals. The Chicago Board Of Trade soybean futures were poised for their biggest weekly rise in nearly three months, underpinned by China making its most significant purchases of US beans since at least June. Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer of palm oil, has decided to increase its biodiesel allocation for the country’s mandatory programme in 2019.
[divider style=”normal” top=”20″ bottom=”20″]
Cbot wheat may rise to $4.97-1/2 per bushel
CBOT December wheat may rise to $4.97-1/2 per bushel, as suggested by its wave pattern and a Fibonacci projection analysis. The contract is riding on a wave C from $4.50-1/2, which is the third wave of a presumed three-wave cycle from the May 13 low of $4.42-1/4. This wave is expected to at least travel into a range of $4.97-1/2 to $5.26-3/4. It may extend into a higher range of $5.26-3/4 to $5.74 as well. The structure of this wave suggests the development of a double-zigzag, the fifth wave of which labelled a is unfolding towards $4.97-1/2, as pointed by a rising trendline. Support is at $4.79-1/2, a break below which may cause a drop to $4.68-1/2.
[divider style=”normal” top=”20″ bottom=”20″]
NY coffee may end correction above support at $1.0115 per lb
New York December coffee may end its correction above a support at $1.0115 per lb, and retest a resistance at $1.0360. The resistance is identified as the 50 percent retracement of the downtrend from $1.1375 to $0.9340. Except for a sudden fall from the Sept. 11 high of $1.0470, there has not been any reversal signal. The fall does not look deep enough to confirm a reversal of the uptrend from $0.9340. A break above $1.0360 could lead to a gain into the range of $1.06-$1.0895.