Commodity Watch
Gold prices rose on Friday, setting for a second week of gains as gold bugs looked for a June rate decrease after core-PCE slowed yearly.
Due to international uncertainties from conflicts and the US election, ING predicts gold prices to rise this year. Although gold investment demand has yet to recover, forecasts prices to average $2,150/oz in the fourth quarter and $2,081/oz in 2024.
Gold (XAUUSD:CUR) was up +0.57% at $2,054.86 an ounce by 6 am ET and up 0.5% so far as markets anticipated Fed speakers. Lower interest rates improve non-yielding bullion’s appeal.
The World Gold Council said preliminary data showed strong gold consumption during the longer-than-usual 2024 Chinese New Year’s holiday. Gold jewelry demand is expected to rise at a slower pace than in 2023 due to economic growth slowdown. WGC expects bar and coin sales to remain high but not match 2023’s rise.
Copper prices fell slightly and were headed for a weekly drop after data indicated China’s industrial activity fell for a fifth straight month in February. Aluminum, zinc, and tin LME prices fell.
However, oil prices climbed and were expected to rise monthly. Similar to OPEC’s projection, Wood Mackenzie predicted Thursday that global oil consumption will climb by 1.9M bbl/day this year, with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for over 60%.
Woodmac’s VP of oils research Alan Gelder anticipated China and India will account for 496K and 161K bbl/day of the increases, respectively, while Asia-Pacific nations excluding China and India will account for 542K.
According to Reuters, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 26.42 million barrels per day (bpd) in February, up 90,000 from January.
Soybean and cocoa prices jumped, but wheat futures declined.
Recent Commodity Price Movements
Energy
Crude oil (CL1:COM) +1.19% to $79.19.
Natural Gas (NG1:COM) +0.09% to $1.86.
Metals
Palladium (XPDUSD:CUR) +0.21% to $944.01.
Silver (XAGUSD:CUR) +0.12% to $22.69.
Platinum (XPTUSD:CUR) -0.69% to $869.75.
Agriculture
Corn (C_1:COM) +0.20% to $416.58.
Wheat (W_1:COM) -0.24% to $576.09.
Cotton (CT1:COM) -5.31% to $101.56.
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