Commodities market overview 

commodities

A summary of trading in key commodities markets overseas:

ENERGY

Oil prices soared on escalating violence in Iraq, as government troops recaptured a major refinery and the US said it was sending in military advisers to train Iraqi forces.

Brent crude for August delivery rallied 80 US cents in London to $US115.06, its highest since early September.

In New York, West Texas Intermediate for July delivery added 46 US cents at $US106.43 a barrel.

The rise in prices continued after US President Barack Obama announced that he was ready to send 300 military advisers to Iraq and if necessary to take “targeted” and “precise” military action to counter radical Sunni fighters.

PRECIOUS METALS

Gold prices posted the biggest daily gain in nine months, driven by investors who were caught flat-footed by the Federal Reserve’s outlook for continued low interest rates.

Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, on Thursday rose 3.3 per cent, the biggest one-day percentage gain since September 2013. The contract ended $US41.40 higher at $US1,314.10 a troy ounce, its highest level since April 14.

Platinum and palladium rose as a deal to end a South African miners’ strike remained elusive, despite a tentative agreement reached between mining companies and the workers’ union last week.

Palladium climbed 1.9 per cent to $US836.80 a troy ounce, while platinum rose 1.6 per cent to $US1,474.50 an ounce.

Silver for July delivery gained 4.4 per cent to $US20.648 an ounce, its highest settlement since March 19.

BASE METALS

Nickel again closed lower as negative sentiment in that market prevailed, while other metals found support from accommodative monetary policy statements in the US and the Chinese premier’s upbeat comments about China’s economy.

At the close of open-outcry trading in the London ring on Thursday, three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange was down 1.3 per cent from the previous day’s settlement price, at $US18,545 per metric ton.

The metal’s two-day drop was triggered by a 19,000-ton stock surge.

Other LME metals found support from a softer US dollar. Three-month copper rose 0.2 per cent on the day to close at $US6,725 per ton, while aluminium climbed 0.95 to $US1,889 per ton.

Industrial metals benefited from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s repeated pledge to keep gross domestic product expanding at 7.5 per cent this year, easing fears about a slowdown in the Chinese economy.

 

Source: smh

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