Oil fell because OPEC + delayed production decision
Oil prices fell more than 1% from a multi-month high after on 4/1 OPEC + has not decided whether to increase production in February or not and agreed to meet again on January 5.
Closing session 4/1, Brent crude oil fell 71 US cents or 1.4% to 51.09 USD / barrel, while WTI oil fell 90 cents or 1.9% to 47.62 USD / barrel.
During the session, WTI oil reached its highest level since February 2020 and Brent oil its highest since March 2020. The plus of Brent oil with WTI reached the highest level since May 2020.
The S&P 500 and the Dow also fell from record levels when President Donald Trump toured Georgia in an attempt to keep the US Senate in Republican hands ahead of the January 5 election.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies called OPEC + will reinstate negotiations on Jan. 5 after a stalemate on oil output levels in February as Saudi Arabia resisted further pumping due to hurricanes. new radiation because of the corona virus, while Russia led the calls to increase production on the grounds of recovery.
Oil prices had some support early in trading after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard captured a South Korean-flagged tanker in the Gulf Sea and Iran continued to enrich uranium at an underground nuclear facility. land.
But then the Kuwaiti foreign minister said Saudi Arabia would reopen its land and sea airspace and borders for Qatar from Jan. 4 as part of seeking to resolve a political dispute that prompted Riyadh and its allies to purge. vegetarian Qatar.
Gold increased by more than 2%
Gold price rose more than 2% to the highest level in more than 2 months because USD dropped before the sprint election for both US Senate seats from Georgia state.
Spot gold rose 2.4% to $ 1,934.13 / ounce. In the session, the price has reached 1,944.11 USD / ounce, highest since 9/11. US gold futures in February closed up 2.7% to $ 1,946.6 / ounce.
USD dropped to a 2.5-year low making gold cheaper for holders of other currencies. Investors are watching the Georgia sprint election on Jan. 5, which will decide which party controls the Senate.
Stricter blockade restrictions are expected in the UK and Japan due to increased Covid-19 infections.
Nickel rose to its highest level in 2 weeks
Nickel prices rose to a 2-week high on concerns about supplies after an earthquake in Indonesia, while base metals generally rose due to a depreciating dollar and strong manufacturing activity in China and Europe.
Nickel price on London metal trading floor increased 4.9% to 17,420 USD / ton after touching 17,520 USD / ton, the highest since 21/12.
A survey found that manufacturing activity in the eurozone ended 2020 at the fastest pace since mid-2018.
Manufacturing activities in China in December 2020 maintained a recovery momentum to pre-pandemic levels.
Raw materials for steel production increased
China’s coking coal price soared more than 4%, driven by limited supply and strong demand, prolonging the monthly recovery of steelmaking raw material prices from May to December 2020.
Coke delivered in May on the Dalian commodity trading floor closed up 4.5% to CNY 2,929.5 ($ 453.1) / ton, after reaching CNY 2,940 earlier.
Analysts at Sinosteel Futures note that the supply of coke is increasingly scarce in China and the demand for these raw materials by the leading steel producer is also strong.
Prices for Dalian coking coal were up 67% in 2020, the biggest one-year increase since 2017.
Pressure on coking coal supplies cannot be reduced in the short term, according to consulting firm Mysteel, while Chinese steel mills are willing to pay higher prices.
Other steelmaking materials also rose on the first trading day of 2021, with iron ore on the Dalian and Singapore exchanges both up 3.4%.
Iron ore has more than doubled in value last year, due to scarce supplies and some analysts have described as strong Chinese demand for this raw material.
China is estimated to produce more than 1 a billion tons of crude steel for the first time in 2020 and a government consulting agency recently expected production to increase 1.4% further this year.
China plans to build one or two iron ore mines abroad by 2025 to increase supplies and boost its pricing.
Rebar in Shanghai rose 1.8%, while HR coil rose 0.1%. Stainless steel increased by 2.7%.
Japanese rubber followed the rise of Shanghai
Japanese rubber prices increase according to Shanghai market due to hope of increased demand after the holiday season.
Rubber contract on the Osaka trading floor for the term of June closed up 13.5 JPY to 240.4 JPY / kg.
Rubber contract delivered in May in Shanghai increased 445 CNY to 14,254 CNY / ton.
Analysts expect rubber demand in China to improve slightly after the Tet holiday last week boosted prices.
The highest crude sugar in nearly 3.5 years
Raw sugar futures in March closed up 1.7% to 15.76 US cents / lb, prices reached 16.13 US cents in this session, the highest price since May 2017. Sugar prices have risen 15% last year.
Sugar supplies are scarce as leading sugar producer Brazil is not in harvest, Indian exports cannot make up for the delay in the beginning of the season and Thai production remains disappointing.
Indian sugar mills produced 11 million tons of sugar in the first three months of 2020/21, up 42% from a year ago.
White sugar futures in March closed up 2.2% to $ 430.3 / ton, reaching the highest level in nearly a year. In the last year, white sugar increased by 17.2%.
Coffee drops
Arabica coffee futures in March closed down 2.1 US cent or 1.6% to 1.2615 USD / lb, reversing the initial increase when the price reached the highest level in nearly 4 months. The contract lost 1.1% last year due to large production in Brazil, although a lesser output outlook this year helps to bolster prices. December 2020 precipitation in Brazilian Arabica regions surpassed the five-year average this month, which is likely to improve the 2021 outlook.
Robusta coffee futures in March closed down 14 USD or 1% to 1,372 USD / ton.
Prices of some key commodities in the morning of January 5
