Oil up 2%
Oil prices rose 2% on Friday (April 8), but overall, the whole week fell for the second consecutive week after countries announced plans to release crude oil from strategic reserves.
Brent oil ended the session up 2.20 USD, or 2.19%, to 102.78 USD/barrel; West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil rose $2.23 to $98.26.
For the whole week, Brent fell 1.5% while WTI fell 1%. In recent weeks, the prices of these two oils have seen their most volatile movements since June 2020.
Member states of the International Energy Agency (IEA) will ship 120 million barrels of crude oil over the next six months, of which the United States alone will export half that amount – as part of a plan to free up 180 million The strategic oil reserve was announced in March.
PVM analyst Stephen Brennock said there are still doubts about whether the supply from emergency releases will solve Russia’s crude shortage.
“There is some concern that by artificially lowering prices you will only increase demand and that will burn out that supply pretty quickly,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group.
Gas reduction
Spot prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia fell this week as China continued its wide-ranging blockade to combat Covid-19, while gas prices in Europe remained high to attract investors. gas supplies to the region amid increased supply risks related to Russian gas.
The average price of LNG delivered to Northeast Asia in May was around $33.00 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down $2.00 from the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Dutch May gas futures price at the TTF center – a reference for the European gas market – is around 34.50 USD/mmBtu.
Gold and palladium rise
Gold price increased despite the strong increase of USD. Spot gold price in the session 8/4 increased by 0.5% to 1,941.94 USD/ounce, for the whole week increased by 0.9%; June gold futures rose 0.4 percent to $1,945.6.
Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said uncertainty about what the US Federal Reserve will do after raising interest rates is driving inflows into gold.
According to Mr. Moya, concerns about economic recession, concerns about growth along with inflation pressure also make people turn to buy gold.
Notably, the price of palladium rose sharply at the end of the week due to concerns about new supply after the London Metal Exchange (LME) suspended trading of palladium originating from Russian refineries.
Accordingly, the price of palladium reached 2,408.50 USD/ounce, ending the first bullish week of this year. The metal hit an all-time high on March 7, at $3,440.76 an ounce on March 7 due to supply concerns from the world’s top producer, Russia.
Steel decreased due to slow consumption because of Covid-19
China’s steel price fell in the last session of the week, sometimes down more than 2% due to the Covid-19 epidemic limiting production at factories, thereby affecting consumption.
Consumption of main steel products in China this week reached 9.6 million tons, down 3% from the previous week.
The price of rebar for October delivery on the Shanghai bourse closed down 1.4% to 5,019 yuan ($788.89)/ton, down 2.7% for the whole week.
Hot rolled coil price fell 0.8% to 5,195 yuan/ton in this session, down 2.3% for the whole week.
Stainless steel prices on the Shanghai exchange, for delivery in May, fell 2.8% to 20,025 yuan / ton.
Iron ore prices fluctuated mixed, while ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, for September delivery, closed up 0.7% to 919 yuan/ton, while imported ore had a content of 62%. spot iron fell 2.5 USD to 157 USD/ton.
Rubber rose
Rubber prices on the Japanese market rose for a fourth straight week on the back of a weaker yen and tight raw material supplies, although weaker Shanghai prices capped gains in Japan.
The September rubber contract on the Osaka floor increased 2.4 yen in this session, or 0.9%, to 263.0 yen (US$2.12)/kg. For the whole week, prices increased by 0.5%.
The September rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange fell 50 yuan to 13,545 yuan (US$2,129.11) per ton.
The amount of rubber stored at warehouses of the Shanghai floor as of April 8 has increased by 0.3% compared to a week earlier.
Copper recovery
Copper prices reversed to rise again, after the previous two declines, due to tight supply, expectations of China’s economic stimulus measures and oil prices to stop falling.
Three-month copper futures on the London Metal Exchange ended the session up 0.2 percent at $10,335 a tonne.
However, the Dollar Index surpassed 100 for the first time in two years, limiting the strong rise in copper prices, as a stronger dollar made copper more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Grains rose
Corn, wheat and soybean prices all rose as stocks became scarce.
Grain prices remain underpinned by the six-week conflict in Ukraine that has halted large volumes of Ukraine’s wheat, corn and sunflower oil exports.
In particular, soybean and corn prices remained high, supported by production declines in South America and concerns about how the US acreage will be as planting time draws near.
Wheat prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange rose 33 cents to $10.58-1/4 per bushel, for the whole week, up 7.49%, the strongest weekly gain since March 4.
Soybean prices also rose 43-1/2 cents to $16.89/bushel, for the whole week up 6.7% – the biggest weekly gain since July 2, 2021.
Corn prices rose 10-1/2 cents to $7.60-3/4/bushel, for the whole week up 4.49%, the biggest weekly gain since the week ended March 4.
The highest road 4.5 months
Raw sugar prices continued to rise to a 4.5-month high as investor sentiment turned positive for commodities as well as equities.
Raw sugar for May delivery ended up 0.57 cents, or 2.9%, to 20.41 cents/lb, the highest since mid-November.
The price of white sugar for delivery in the same period also increased by 11.70 USD or 2.1% to 560.40 USD/ton.
Coffee rose
The price of arabica coffee for May term ended April 8 increased 5.5 cents, or 2.4%, to the highest level in a month now, at $2,3165/lb.
The strengthening of the Brazilian currency is causing farmers in the world’s largest producer to reduce coffee sales.
Robusta coffee price delivered in July this session also increased by 30 USD, equivalent to 1.5% to 2,096 USD/ton.
In Asia, coffee prices in Vietnam fell this week. Farmers in the Central Highlands sell green coffee beans for 40,500-41,500 VND (1.77-1.81 USD)/kg, compared with 41,100 – 42,000 VND a week ago. Meanwhile, traders offered grade 2 robusta coffee (5% black and broken) at a discount of $240 to $250/ton from the July futures contract on the London Stock Exchange, unchanged from last week. prior to.
Palm oil up 6% for the week
Malaysian palm oil prices rose at the end of the week, with June futures on the Bursa Derivatives Exchange (Malaysia) up 93 ringgit, or 1.6%, to 5,920 ringgit ($1,402.84) a tonne. ended the previous two days of declines. For the whole week, the price increased by 6.36%.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Association on Thursday forecast the country’s palm oil production in March to increase 19% month-on-month to 1.35 million tonnes. That figure is higher than a Reuters poll, which is a 16% increase.
Prices of some key items in the morning of April 9:
