Oil prices up about 2%
Crude oil and other risk assets like stocks rose after the Fed gave an upbeat economic outlook.
Closing session on December 16, Brent crude oil increased by 1.14 USD or 1.5% to 75.02 USD/barrel, while WTI oil increased 1.51 USD or 2.1% to 72.38 USD/barrel.
Gains were limited by worries about the Omicron virus and the prospect of oversupply next year as the International Energy Agency pointed out in its monthly report.
Britain and South Africa reported record numbers of Covid-19 infections for the day, while many companies around the world asked employees to work from home, which could limit future demand.
Gold rises on USD retracement
Gold prices rose more than 1% as the dollar weakened after the US Federal Reserve decided to accelerate the withdrawal of pandemic stimulus measures.
Spot gold rose 1% to $1,795.41 an ounce. US gold futures for February 2022 closed up 1.9 percent at $1,798.2 an ounce.
The USD index continued to fall to a one-week low against a basket of currencies, making gold cheaper for buyers in other currencies.
The Fed said it would end its pandemic bond-buying program in March 2022, paving the way for three rate hikes next year. Other major central banks also turned tougher this week, with the Bank of England becoming the first G7 economy to raise interest rates post-pandemic.
Zinc, copper increase
Zinc prices jumped more than 5% on supply concerns after the Belgian metal trading company Nyrstar said it would close its factory in France from January 2022 due to soaring electricity prices.
Rising electricity costs caused by this year’s wholesale electricity crisis have forced industries from zinc to steel to cut production. Nyrstar has a production capacity of 720,000 tons of zinc in Europe.
The price of zinc for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange rose 5.7% to $3,455 a tonne, the highest since October 25.
LME copper prices rose 3.2% to $9,499 per tonne due to the US Federal Reserve’s optimistic forecast for the world’s largest economy.
Japanese rubber unchanged
Japanese rubber prices were unchanged due to delayed supplies but weak demand.
Rubber contract for delivery in May 2022 on the Osaka exchange closed unchanged at 232.9 JPY (2.04 USD)/kg.
Rubber prices on the Shanghai floor of the same term increased by 20 CNY (US$3.14)/ton to CNY 14,745/ton.
High shipping fees in Southeast Asia and delays in goods while low inventories in Qingdao supported prices.
Reduced coffee
Arabica coffee for March 2022 closed down 0.19% at $2,3685/lb.
Agents said the field trip in Brazil continued to be mixed, with some suggesting that recent rain could improve the outlook for next crop after drought and frost earlier this year.
Brazil’s coffee production reached 47.7 million bags (60kg/bag) this year, down 24.4% from the record production in 2020, noting that production was hit hard by drought.
Robusta coffee for March delivery fell 0.17% to $2,299/ton.
In Vietnam coffee supply increased from the harvest but domestic prices remained stable this week. Important coffee growing areas may face upcoming storms, affecting the drying process.
Farmers in the Central Highlands sold coffee at 40,400 – 41,500 VND (1.76 – 1.81 USD)/kg, unchanged from last week. A trader at this coffee belt said supply starts to increase as farmers harvest.
This week, the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (Vicofa) said that coffee output from crop year 2021/22 may decrease because old trees are not replanted while a part of farmers switch to fruit trees. other for higher profits.
Traders in Vietnam have offered to sell grade 2 robusta coffee with 5% black and broken beans at a discount of $400/ton from the March futures contract, a week before the deduction of $430-400/ton. .
In Indonesia, Sumatra robusta coffee is offered at a discount of $250/ton from the March futures contract on ICE London, unchanged from last week.
Sugar prices increase
Raw sugar for March 2022 closed up 0.57% at 19.40 US cents/lb in part due to a bullish energy market.
Dealers note that the weak domestic sugar market in India has brought prices down to exportable levels and there is still a chance that India could sell more than 6 million tonnes to the world market this year.
White sugar futures in March 2022 increased 0.24% to 504.4 USD/ton.
Unica said sugar mills in south-central Brazil produced 160,000 tonnes of sugar in the second half of November, 62.8% lower than a year ago but slightly above market expectations.
Vietnam rice price lowest in 3 months, stable in India, Thailand
Rice export prices from Vietnam fell to their lowest level in more than three months on weak demand, while prices in other Asian hubs held steady this week.
Vietnam’s 5% broken rice dropped to 400-410 USD/ton, the lowest since September 9, last week the price was from 410-414 USD/ton.
Rice exports in November fell 8.4% month-on-month to 566,358 tons. Total exports in the first 11 months of this year increased by 0.8 percent year-on-year to 5.7 million tons.
The price of Thailand’s 5% broken rice export remained unchanged at 385-396 USD/ton. Traders in Bangkok said overseas markets remained quiet through the end of the year as expected.
India’s export rice prices are at their lowest since December 2016, pressured by a weaker rupee amid weak demand. Parboiled rice 5% broken was offered for sale at 351 – 356 USD/ton, unchanged from last week.
Meanwhile, the domestic price of rice in Bangladesh (traditionally the third largest rice exporter in the world but became a major importer after the floods) remains high despite the large volume of imports, which affects consumers. use. However, the country’s rice production may fall to 35.5 million tons in the market year 2021/22, down 0.8 million tons from the previous year, according to the latest forecast of the US Department of Agriculture.
Soybean at 3-week high, wheat, corn up
Soybeans on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange hit a three-week high as soybean oil rose 2% and hit a one-week high on signs of vegetable oil supplies and renewed demand for US exports.
Wheat rose nearly 2% on strong weekly export sales and drought conditions in the US plains after hurricanes hit the region.
CBOT soybean futures for January 2022 closed up 14-3/4 US cents or 1.2% at 12.77-1/4 USD/bushel, after touching 12.80-3/4 USD, the highest. from 11/24.
Wheat futures for March 2022 rose 14-1/2 US cents to 7.7-1/2 USD/bushel and corn closed up 5-1/2 US cents to 5.91-1/4 USD/bushel .
Prices of some key items on the morning of December 17:
