Wednesday, 22 May 2013 15:15
Posted by Shoaib-ur-Rehman Siddiqui
LONDON: Gold rose on Wednesday as the dollar fell after Federal Reserve officials allayed investor concerns that the US central bank would soon reduce its bond-buying programme, while Chinese physical demand also lent some support to prices.On Tuesday, New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley and St. Louis Fed chief James Bullard said that further economic progress was needed before they would support curtailing bond purchases.Spot gold reversed Tuesday's 1.3 percent losses and rose ...
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LONDON: Copper was little changed on Friday as investors weighed the potential impact on metals demand of Thursday's data providing a more upbeat US jobs picture but also showing slower industrial activity in top metals consumer China.Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange traded at $7,288.50 a tonne by 0958 GMT, up 0.16 percent from its close on Thursday, when it reached a one-week low of $7,215.China's factory activity shrank for the first time in seven months in May raising fears that its economic recovery has stalled.Partially balancing concerns about China, which accounts for about 40 percent of global copper consumption, data from the United States showed a bigger-than-expected drop in claims for unemployment benefits."It seems positive data from the US has helped, with prices edging up slightly, but the data on China yesterday was bearish," Sucden Financial analyst Kashaan Kamal said."We've seen a gradual price decline since late January ...
LONDON: Gold bounced back on Thursday from the previous session's losses as the dollar fell sharply and European shares dropped after weak economic data in China and Europe.A euro zone purchasing managers' index showed that while the slump in business activity eased slightly in May, it pointed to a further contraction in the second quarter. The flash HSBC purchasing managers' survey showed Chinese factory activity shrank in May for the first time in seven months.Spot ...
LONDON: Copper reversed the week's gains, sliding as much as 3 percent on Thursday after a survey showed factory activity in top metals consumer China shrank for the first time in seven months.Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange slid 3.2 percent to a session low of $7,233 per tonne. It failed to trade in official rings but was bid at $7,319.5 per tonne.Other industrial metals also fell, with aluminium down 1.4 percent to ...
LONDON: Britain's farm ministry on Thursday raised its forecast for wheat imports in the 2012/13 season (July/June) to 2.54 million tonnes from a previous projection of 2.26 million.Imports of wheat into Britain have soared this season following a poor harvest last summer. In the 2011/12 season, Britain imported 908,000 tonnes of wheat.Customs data issued last week put UK wheat imports up to the end of March at 2.12 million tonnes, more than three times the ...
MOSCOW: Russian Grain Union has raised the top end of its 2013 harvest forecast range due to the good condition of winter grains, its head said on Tuesday, indicating that crop risks due to dry weather this month were limited.The union has expanded its 2013 grain harvest forecast range to 90-100 million tonnes from a previously expected 90-95 million tonnes, Arkady Zlochevsky, the head of the lobby, told Reuters.It also raised its forecast of the ...
