GOLD
Gold prices held weaker to steady in Asia on Tuesday
with the focus on the timing of a widely expected Federal Reserve rate hike
this year still in some doubt. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile
Exchange, gold for December delivery eased 0.05% in early Asia at $1,103.60 a
troy oune. Overnight, gold surged on Monday experiencing its strongest one-day
moves in nearly two months, amid dovish comments from a prominent Federal Reserve
official on the timing of the U.S. Central Bank's first interest rate hike in
nearly a decade and continuing concerns surrounding the economy in China.
BASE METAL
There is huge market potential to replace copper with
aluminum in China’s cable industry, cableabc.com reported. LME copper once
broke above USD 5,300/mt on Monday and closed at USD 5,298/mt, up USD 142/mt,
due mainly to report on copper production cuts and a fallback in the US dollar
index. Copper for September delivery rose 0.20% to 2.394 a pound. China's
Producer Price Index also plunged 5.4% for the month, extending its
longstanding streak of monthly declines to 40. Analysts expected the index to
decrease by approximately 5% in July.
ENERGY
Crude oil prices fell
in early Asia on Tuesday with the focus on weekly data points ahead in the U.S.
on supply. On Tuesday industry group the American Petroleum Institute will
release its estimates of crude and refined product stockpiles last week. On
Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Energy will release its own more closely
watched figures on the same stockpiles. Crude oil for delivery in September on
the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 0.34% to $44.81 a barrel. A reduction in
refinery activity should logically decrease the demand for crude, all things
being equal, said David Thompson, executive vice-president at Powerhouse, an
energy-specialized commodities broker in Washington.
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