Summary of world commodity prices on November 24: Coal and rubber prices increased sharply

In the energy market, oil prices fell slightly as investors doubted the effectiveness of the opening of oil reserves called for by the US and predicted a reaction from oil-producing countries.
Ending the session, Brent fell 6 US cents, or 0.07%, to $82.25 a barrel, while WTI fell 11 US cents, or 0.14%, to $78.39 a barrel.

The market is now paying attention to OPEC +'s reaction to the above move of the US and other countries. The group is expected to hold a policy meeting next week.

The United States said it would export millions of barrels of oil from its strategic reserves and would coordinate with China, India, South Korea, Japan and Britain to try to cool down oil prices after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC and its allies, also known as OPEC+, did not respond to calls to increase production further. However, analysts say the measure may only have a short-term impact, given the lack of investment in oil production over the years and the strong global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts at Goldman Sachs said that the aforementioned combined measure could increase crude oil supply by about 70-80 million barrels, less than the 100 million barrels expected by the market.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said US crude inventories rose by 1 million barrels last week, contrasting with analyst expectations for a 481,000-barrel drop. But crude inventories in the country's Strategic Reserve fell to 604.5 million barrels last week, the lowest level since June 2003.

The number of active US oil rigs rose by 6 this week to 467, the highest level since April 2020, as high oil prices have lured many miners back. In addition, oil prices are also affected by the rising number of COVID-19 infections and breaking previous records in many parts of Europe, prompting many countries to re-impose restrictions on travel. again.

China's coking coal prices rose more than 13% on improving sentiment in the property market and expectations of increased steel production demand from mills, although analysts warn the market remains volatile. high risk.
Financial regulators have asked some banks to provide more loans to real estate companies to develop projects, amid efforts to ease liquidity stress in the industry.

Coking coal on the Dalian Commodity Exchange for the term of January 2022 increased by 13.5% to 2,170 CNY (US$339.71)/ton, ending the session up 12.4% to CNY 2,149/ton; Coke rose 4.8% to CNY 3,050 a tonne at the close.

In the precious metals market, spot gold fell to 3-week low as strong US economic data supported USD and Treasury yields, along with worries about possible Fed rate hikes. earlier than expected also added disappointment.
Late in the session, spot gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,783.18 an ounce after falling to its lowest level since November 4, at $1,777.8 an ounce this session; US gold for December term closed steady at $1,784.3 per ounce.

The gold market has been pressured lower by concerns that the Fed may begin to reduce stimulus or raise interest rates at a faster pace than previously expected. High interest rates increase the cost of holding gold. Additionally, US initial jobless claims fell to their lowest level since 1969 and another report showed economic growth at a 2.1% pace.

The US Department of Labor announced 199,000 initial jobless claims in the past week (ending November 20), the lowest level since 1969. The goods trade deficit of the world's number one economy in the past week. October decreased by 14.6% to 82.9 billion USD; The personal consumption expenditures price index, a measure of US inflation, rose 0.6 percent in October.

Minutes of the US Federal Reserve's meeting released after the market closed showed that some Fed officials think the time to pull down inflation may be longer than expected and the Fed accelerates the pace. bond purchases are made during the November meeting.
US markets will be closed on November 25 for Thanksgiving.

Regarding other precious metals, silver price for December delivery increased by 6.1 US cents (0.26%) to 23,496 USD/ounce; Platinum for January delivery rose $11.1 (1.15%) to $975.3 an ounce.
In the industrial metals market, copper rose to a one-month high and other industrial metals also rose after China announced measures to support the real estate sector. Besides, the price increased also because the inventory of most metals on the London Exchange decreased and the metal delivery contracts in the near term were priced higher than the distant futures.

Copper prices on the LME ended the session up 0.9 percent to $9,797 a tonne after hitting the highest level since October 26 at $9,880 a tonne. The metal is up about 25% this year after gaining 26% in 2020, although it has lost momentum in recent months due to slowing economic growth.
This week, Chinese officials said they would increase funding support for businesses to support the slowing economy.
As for other industrial metals, tin rose 2.9% to $40,010 a tonne in a session that hit a record high of $40,300 a tonne. Indonesia may stop exporting tin in 2024 as part of efforts to attract investment in the resource processing industry.

Spot iron ore price with 62% Fe content exported to China increased by 2 USD to 97.5 USD/ton on November 23, according to data of consulting firm SteelHome. Steel bars in Shanghai increased 3.2% to 4,502 CNY/ton. Hot rolled coil increased 3.2% to CNY 4,599/ton and stainless steel increased 3.6% to CNY 18,145/ton.
In the agricultural market, US wheat prices fell from multi-year highs, and corn and soybeans also fell on profit taking and liquidation ahead of the Thanksgiving break. A stronger dollar also added downward pressure, but the declines in corn and soybeans were tempered by signs of improved export demand.
Specifically, wheat futures for March 2022 on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange fell 17-1/4 US cents to 8.5-1/4 USD/bushel after reaching a high of 8.74-3/4 USD/bushel. in this session; corn for the same term fell 2-3/4 US cent to 5.85-1/2 USD/bushel, down from nearly 5 months high at 5.96-3/4 USD earlier in this session; Soybean futures for January 2022 fell 6-1/2 US cents to 12.66-1/2 USD/bushel.
The price of raw sugar for March 2020 futures closed down 0.9% at 19.93 US cents after gaining 1.4% in the previous session; white sugar in March 2022 fell 1.2% to 511.2 USD/ton.

Sugar mills in the south-central region of Brazil produced 626,000 tons of sugar in the first half of November, 49.7% less than the same period a year ago. This volume is still higher than market expectations. Citi has raised its 2022 average price forecast from 19.5 US cents/lb to 20.3 US cents/lb as the market remains tight through the 2022/23 crop year.

The price of arabica coffee on the ICE floor rose to a new 10-year high. Closing session of arabica coffee term in March 2022 increased 1.4% to 2,4540 USD/lb, previously in the session it reached 2.4755 USD/lb, the highest since October 2011; Robusta coffee delivery for January 2022 fell 0.7 percent to $2,281 per tonne, in the previous session hitting its highest level since August 2011.

Market activity remains hampered by worries about a shortage of shipping containers in Brazil, concerns about farmers not delivering in key producing countries, and falling ICE stocks.

Japanese rubber prices rose to a six-month high, on growing hopes that auto output would recover from a slump caused by microchip shortages. The weakening JPY against USD also supported rubber prices.

Rubber contract for April 2022 on the Osaka exchange closed up 9.4 JPY to 247.8 JPY (2.2 USD)/kg. The price hit its highest level since May 31 at 254.5 JPY during this session; rubber for January 2022 on the Shanghai trading floor increased by 75 CNY to 15,685 CNY (US$2,456)/ton.

Jiong Gu, an analyst at Yutaka Shoji Co., said that predicting auto manufacturers will ramp up production from December or early next year will support rubber prices.

The USD rose to a 4.5-year high against the JPY making rubber cheaper for buyers in other currencies.

World commodity prices

VITIC/Reuters