Oil increased due to the expectation of the US economic stimulus program
Oil prices increased in the past session because of the expectation that the US administration under President Joe Biden will introduce many stimulus measures, thereby pushing fuel demand up, while making policies that make the source crude oil supply becomes tight.
Ending session 20/1, Brent oil rose 18 cents to 56.08 USD / barrel, West Texas US oil (WTI) increased 26 US cents to 53.24 USD / barrel.
This month, Brent oil hit an 11-month high of $ 57.42 a barrel after Saudi Arabia voluntarily pledged to deeply cut its oil supplies.
US crude inventories for the week ending Jan. 15 were estimated to have decreased by 300,000 barrels. The official data will be announced by the US Government on January 22.
Gold increased by more than 1%
Gold prices rose more than 1% in the past session because of the expectation that Joe Biden’s administration will increase its stimulus measures to deal with the US economic decline due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the session last night, spot gold price increased by 1.6% to 1,868.00 USD / ounce, the highest level in over a week; gold futures in February 2021 rose 1.4% to $ 1,866.50 / ounce.
Mr. Biden on January 20 is sworn in as US President. Investors watched the event with a focus on his proposal for a $ 1.9 trillion economic stimulus package and the rate at which Covid-19 vaccination nationwide was being administered.
Howie Lee, an economist at OCBC Bank, believes that the gold price can still reach $ 2,000, possibly in the middle of the second quarter of 2021.
Copper and aluminum rose due to expectations of economic stimulus after Biden took office
Copper price increased in the last session due to optimistic sentiment about the US government’s spending programs – expected to boost the economic recovery and increase the demand for metals. The stock market also rose in the last session for the same reason.
Ending this session, copper futures for 3 months delivery on the London floor increased 1.1% to $ 8,045 / ton.
Aluminum price this session also increased by 1.2% to 1,986.50 USD / ton.
However, investors are cautious because they are not sure whether the uptrend of stocks and goods prices will last or not.
“After a hugely successful 2020, we have no doubt whether China will continue to lead the world in increasing aluminum production in 2021….” and “that will affect aluminum prices as Chinese demand growth slows again by the end of 2021,” said commodity expert James O’Rourke of Capital Economics.
According to the International Aluminum Research Institute (IAI), by 2020, global output of semi-processed aluminum increased 4.2% to 5.67 million tons.
Iron ore increased due to supply concerns
Iron ore prices in China reversed yesterday after falling in the previous session, amid concerns of investors that severe weather could disrupt iron ore shipments from Australia, supplier large level for the Chinese market.
The Australian Weather Forecast on January 19 said heavy rains are expected to continue, although La Nina’s characteristic weather pattern may have peaked.
Iron ore futures contract referenced on the Dalian floor (delivered in May 2021) increased 0.6% to 1,063 CNY (164.32 USD) / ton.
BHP Group Ltd yesterday forecast 20/1 iron ore production in fiscal 2021 will reach a record high, after restarting operations in Brazil.
Reduced steel
HR and HR coil prices on the Shanghai floor both fell in the past session. Accordingly, rebar dropped 0.4% to 4,311 CNY / ton, while hot-rolled coil decreased by 0.2% to 4,419 CNY / ton. Stainless steel alone increased slightly by 0.1% to 14,310 CNY / ton.
Leading Chinese steel producer Baoshan Iron & Steel estimated 2020 net profit to grow 1% -6% year-on-year.
Coal is reduced
The price of coking coal on the Dalian trading floor recently fell 1.3% to CNY 1,658 / ton, while coke fell 0.1% to CNY 2,708 / ton.
“Coking coal prices are affected by the Chinese policymaker’s call to expand production to secure supplies,” said Wang Haitao, an analyst at Huatai Futures in Beijing.
Lowest soybean 1 week
US soybean prices fell in the last session, to a week low, due to strong technical selling pressure, in the midst of a rainy scene throughout South America, alleviating concerns about supply.
Soybeans on the Chicago floor ended the last session down 16-1 / 4 US cents to 13.69-1 / 2 / bushel at the close of the session, after a moment of dropping US $ 33-3 / 4. cent.
Although prices are on a downward trend, analysts believe that prices can quickly reverse upward, as recent strong selling is only technical, and supply risks remain, while import demand is still good.
China’s soybean imports from the US market in 2020 increased by 52.8%, according to data from US Customs.
Sugar increases
The price of raw sugar in the last session increased due to the active purchase of commodity funds, although the fundamentals had mixed effects.
Raw sugar in March 2021 on New York floor increased 1% to 16.27 US cent / lb. Last week, prices hit a 3.5-year high of 16.75 US cents. White sugar delivered in the same period also increased by 4.8 USD to 456 USD / ton.
Some traders on the Chicago floor believe that sugar prices are likely to rise to 17 US cents due to financial factors, such as inflation and currency volatility.
However, the sugar market is facing pressures from the fact that Chinese demand is expected to decline this year after the country has bought heavily in 2020, and the prospect of supplies from India will increase sharply.
Coffee drops
The price of arabica coffee delivered in March 2021 decreased by 1.95 cents, equivalent to 1.5%, to $ 1,252 / lb; Robusta delivered the same term decreased 8 USD (0.6%) to 1,340 USD / ton.
The amount of coffee stored on the ICE floor has increased for the third day in a row, of which Bazil coffee exceeded 500,000 bags, second only to Honduras.
Rubber increased due to expectations of US stimulus programs
Rubber prices in Japan have increased recently because the market hopes that demand will be stronger after the US has added new economic stimulus packages against the effects of Covid-19.
Rubber contract term 6/2021 on Osaka floor increased 1.2 JPY to 238.1 JPY / kg.
Prices of some key items in the morning of January 21
