Oil increased by more than 2%
Oil prices rose more than 2%, hitting a 12-month high after major producers pointed out they are restricting production close to their commitments.
Closing the session 2/2, Brent crude oil rose 1.11 USD or 2% to 57.46 USD / barrel, on the 3rd consecutive day of increase, the price touched 58.05 USD / barrel, the highest since January 2020. . WTI oil rose $ 1.21 or 2.3% to $ 54.76 a barrel, after hitting $ 55.26, the highest in a year. Price increases started when OPEC’s output rose less than expected.
OPEC crude production rose for the seventh consecutive month in January, but less than expected, according to a Reuters poll.
Saudi Arabia voluntarily cuts production by 1 million barrels a day can be done from the beginning of February to the end of March.
Russia’s output increased in January but in line with the output treaty, while Kazakhstan’s oil output fell this month.
The increase recovered as US Congress appeared ready to pass the economic stimulus package and the cold weather in the US boosted demand for heating oil.
However, energy company BP had a tough start to 2021 amid a slumping product demand, retail volume in January fell by about 20% year-on-year, while decrease in quarter 4/2020 is 11%. However, BP says oil demand is expected to recover in 2021, with global inventories returning to a five-year average by mid-year.
Silver plummeted, gold fell
Silver prices fell more than 8% as retail investors retreated after prices hit a near-eight-year high in the previous session by mass trading driven by social media.
Spot silver fell 8.2% to $ 26.59 an ounce. Silver rose 7.3% in the previous session to its highest level since February 2013.
Contributing to this decline, CME on February 1 increased the minimum deposit for silver futures by 17.9% to solve the abnormal volatility of the market. Additionally, the WallStreetBets Reddit forum posts encouraged investors to stay away from silver.
Meanwhile, spot gold decreased 1.4% to 1,835.11 USD / ounce. US gold futures in April closed down 1.6% to $ 1,833.4 / ounce.
Silver could weaken if gold doesn’t rise, according to HSBC analyst James Steel. The ratio between gold and silver is now much lower than historical averages.
Lowest copper price in 6 weeks
Copper prices fell toward six-week lows as funds cut bullish bets before seasonal demand lulled during the Tet holiday in China, which accounts for 50% of global consumption.
Copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.4% to $ 7,768 / ton. The price of this metal fell to $ 7,705 / ton last week, the lowest since December 23, 2020.
Copper reserves on the LME floor are at 74,225 tons, close to a 15-year low reached in September 2020. Low inventories have caused concerns about the ability to meet the market, causing spot gold prices to be higher than prices delivered after July 3 / ton.
Iron ore prices fell
Iron ore prices fell, as investors were cautious before the Lunar New Year holiday that began on February 11 in China, the world’s leading steel producer.
Iron ore futures contract in May on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended the day down 5.6% to 933.5 CNY (144.51 USD) / ton, previously the price fell to 925 CNY / ton, low. most since December 10, 2020.
Iron ore futures contracts in March in Singapore fell about 6% to 142 USD / ton then increased to 143.4 USD / ton, down 5.1%.
In addition to weaker pre-Tet risk asset demand, steel product prices and inputs are under pressure to drop due to low steel margins in China.
Spot iron ore prices in China were at $ 158 / ton on February 1, the lowest since December 15, 2020, according to SteelHome consulting firm data.
Due to lower demand for iron ore, inventories at ports in China rose for the third consecutive week to 126.20 million tons as of Jan. 29.
Steel prices continued to decline, with rebar in Shanghai down 2.2%, while HR coil fell 1.8%. Stainless steel decreased by 1.6%.
China’s weekly bar production from 137 steelmakers fell 3.2% to 3.34 million tons between January 21 and January 27, due to weak margins and low demand fueling real mills. current maintenance at their facilities.
Japanese rubber decreased
Japanese rubber prices fell after the government said it would extend an emergency to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, which could limit economic activity and affect demand for goods.
Rubber contract for July delivery on Osaka trading floor closed down 3.7 JPY or 1.6% to 232.3 JPY / kg.
Japan could extend its emergency in Tokyo and other regions for another month, although the number of Covid-19 infections daily begins to decline.
The rubber contract for delivery in May in Shanghai decreased 0.4% to 14,570 CNY / ton.
The road is mixed
White sugar futures in March closed down $ 1.1 or 0.24% to $ 463.6 / ton, previously the highest price since April 2017 at 470.4 USD / ton.
The March contract for raw sugar rose 0.14 US cent or 0.87% to 16.29 US cents / lb, having reached a 1.5-week high earlier.
Agents spread a lot about strong spot demand in the market and manufacturers restricted selling, with a lack of containers affecting white sugar shipping.
The tight supply of sugar can be seen as the plus of both raw sugar and white sugar contracts for March delivery and May delivery widens.
Sugar price increases are limited in the long term, Indian factories produced 17.7 million tons of sugar in the first four months of the 2020/21 crop, up 25% from a year ago.
Coffee drops
Arabica coffee futures in March closed down 1.95 US cent or 1.56% to 1.2340 USD / lb.
The price of arabica coffee ends this year will be 8% higher than the current price due to the shortage in this market in the next season after the surplus this year is consumed.
Costa Rica’s coffee exports fell 37% in January, according to data from the ICAFE National Coffee Institute.
Robusta coffee fell 21 USD or 1.6% to 1,326 USD / ton.
The International Coffee Organization ICO said that the global coffee market has a surplus of 5.26 million bags (60 kg / bag) in crop year 2020/21, higher than the excess of 4.14 million bags in crop year 2019 / 20.
Soybeans fell due to stronger USD
Soybean prices on the Chicago Exchange fell, as the US dollar strengthened and the soybean harvest is progressing in Brazil
CBOT soybean futures in March closed down 10-1 / 2 US cent to 13.54-3 / 4 USD / bushel.
CBOT soybean meal for the same period fell 2.5 USD to 428 USD / ton US, while soybean oil dropped 0.65 US cent to 44.32 US cent / lb.
Argentina’s grain exports are disrupted by truck barriers set up around ports in the province of Buenos Aires, where about 80% of the world’s top soybean meal export suppliers are shipped.
Prices of some key commodities in the morning of February 3
