Gold
prices slipped on Wednesday as dollar held its gains on the back of upbeat U.S.
housing and industrial output data. Housing starts climbed 1.9% to 1.319
million units, data on Tuesday showed. Separately, the Federal Reserve said
industrial production rose 0.5% in March after jumping 1.0% in February. A
hawkish speech from Fed official John Williamson Tuesday reassured rate hikes
this year, and eyes are on U.S.-Japan meeting this week to look for cues, with
talks over trade and an upcoming summit with North Korea that could ease
geopolitical strains in East Asia. Dollar-denominated assets such as gold are
sensitive to moves in the dollar – a gain in the dollar makes gold more
expensive for holders of foreign currency and thus decreases demand for the
precious metal.
China's copper
anode imports on the rise on tighter raw material supply -
China’s
copper anode imports have risen as the country continued to expand its copper
smelting capacity and as its domestic raw material supply percentage is below
30%. In 2017, imported copper anode accounted for 9.1% of the total raw
materials used for copper smelting in China. This compared with 8.8% in 2016,
SMM data showed. Zambia, Chile, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are
three major sources for China's copper anode imports, accounting for some 90%
of the total volume. Imports from Zambia account for about 50%.
Nickel
prices gained on short covering after prices dropped as data showed both hot
and cold patches in the Chinese Spices economy -
Nickel on MCX
settled up 1.07% at 937 on fresh buying despite of reports shows China's
economy grew 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2018, slightly faster than
expected, buoyed by strong consumer demand and surprisingly robust property
investment despite continued measures to tame rising home prices. Also Chinese
steel producers ramped up output in March to the highest level since September,
with mills in the world's top market for the metal rushing to boost operations
after winter restrictions to prevent smog were lifted in the middle of the
month.
Oil Prices Rise
On Global Supply Risks -
Oil prices rose on Wednesday morning in
Asia amid ongoing risk of supply disruptions.A potentially spreading conflict
in the Middle East, renewed U.S. sanctions against Iran and falling output
caused by the political and economic crisis in Venezuela have triggered a sense
of high risk of disruptions to oil supplies, lifting oil prices. The Middle
East is the world’s most important crude exporter and tension in the region
tends to put oil markets on edge. Meanwhile in the U.S., crude inventories fell
by 1 million barrels last week, to 428 million barrels, according to a weekly
report by the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday. Oil markets are
further supported by the supply restraint led by the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia. The pact runs until the end of
2018 but there is growing confidence that the cooperation will be extended.
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