| Commodity market today February 15, 2024: Red returns to the world raw material commodity market Commodity market today February 16, 2024: Commodity market is vibrant again after Tet holiday |
Escalating tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices up for the second consecutive week, while precious metals also rose thanks to their safe-haven status. On the contrary, red dominated the price list of agricultural products and industrial materials. At the end of the week, the MXV-Index of 3/4 commodity groups decreased, causing the MXV-Index to fall 1.04% to 2,111 points. The average trading value of the entire Exchange was over VND3,500 billion per day.
Oil prices rise for second consecutive week
According to MXV, oil prices ended the past trading week with two consecutive weeks of increases amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. In addition, concerns about tightening global supply also contributed to boosting buying power in the market.
 |
| Energy price list |
At the end of the week, WTI oil price increased by 3.06% to 79.19 USD/barrel. Brent oil increased by 1.56% to 83.47 USD/barrel.
Reuters news agency reported that talks between the US, Egypt, Qatar and Israel on a ceasefire in Gaza ended without progress. Hezbollah leaders even said that the war against Israel would escalate further.
In the Red Sea, the threat to cargo ships remains due to harassment by Houthi forces. The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has received reports of a ship being hit by a missile south of Al Mukha, Yemen. The US State Department said the Panama-flagged crude oil tanker M/T Pollux, which was en route to India, also suffered a similar incident. Continued geopolitical uncertainty, with the potential for supply disruptions, is a key catalyst supporting oil prices.
Signs of tightening supply from the US also helped push prices higher last week. Crude oil production from seven US shale basins is expected to rise 0.2% month-on-month to 9.72 million barrels per day in March, down from last year's average monthly growth of about 0.9%, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Meanwhile, data from oil services firm Baker Hughes showed the number of US oil rigs fell by two to 497 in the week ended February 16. This could widen the market deficit amid production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+).
 |
| Oil and precious metal prices rise sharply |
Adding to the price support, Russia’s seaborne crude exports have fallen back from a seven-month high, with weekly exports falling by about 290,000 barrels per day to 3.49 million barrels per day in the week to February 11. The country’s refinery throughput also fell 4% in the first two weeks of February, compared with the January average and down 8.6% year-on-year.
In other news, natural gas prices plunged more than 12% to their lowest level since July 2020, as inventories fell less than expected and warmer weather forecasts curbed heating demand. The EIA said U.S. natural gas inventories fell 49 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the week ended Feb. 9, less than analysts’ forecasts for a 68 bcf drop and a 117 bcf drop in the same period last year, and compared with the five-year average of a 119 bcf drop.
Rising Middle East Conflict Boosts Precious Metal Buying
Closing the trading week of February 12-18, all 10 main commodities in the metal group closed in the green, many of which had impressive price increases of over 4%. Typically, the precious metals group, with silver prices increasing by 3.9% to 23.47 USD/ounce. Platinum increased by 4.02% to 913.5 USD/ounce. The main reason is that the role of safe havens has been enhanced in the context of increasing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
 |
| Metal price list |
Gaza's largest hospital is under siege in the Israeli-Hamas war, officials said, as warplanes attacked Rafah, the last Palestinian refuge in the enclave. Hamas leader Haniyeh said he would not accept any conditions unless the conflict was completely ended, occupation forces were withdrawn from Gaza and the unjust siege was lifted.
Rising tensions have spurred safe-haven buying of silver and platinum, pushing prices higher. Silver hit a one-month high, despite pressure from a rising dollar after a slew of U.S. data showed inflation returning in January.
However, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic said Friday (Feb. 16) that he is open to cutting interest rates at some point in the next few months, which also eased market sentiment and spurred buying of silver and platinum.
In the base metals group, COMEX copper prices jumped 4.26% to $3.83/lb after two consecutive weeks of declines. Iron ore rose 3.67% to $131.27/tonne. The price increase of base metals mainly comes from expectations that the Chinese economy will soon have positive signals thanks to the government's economic stimulus measures after the holidays. Moreover, construction activities usually peak in March, so many factories tend to increase production and increase storage to serve sales. This also contributes to improving consumption prospects in China.
More than 61 million rail trips were made in China during the first six days of the Lunar New Year holiday, the highest number in five years, according to official data compiled by Bloomberg News, and a 61% increase from the same period in 2023.
Prices of some other goods
 |
| Industrial raw material price list |
 |
| Agricultural product price list |
Source
Comment (0)