A summary of trading in key commodities markets overseas:
PRECIOUS METALS
Gold climbed one per cent on Tuesday to its highest price in five weeks, rising in tandem with the euro and equities on technical buying and as lacklustre economic data from China lifted investor hopes for monetary stimulus there.
Bullion prices gained after news China’s economy grew at the weakest pace in two-and-a-half years, suggesting officials may try to boost growth by tweaking monetary policy.
Gold has closed above its 200-day moving average in the past five sessions, and has gained almost 10 per cent after briefly entering a bear market in December.
Spot gold was up one per cent at $US1,660.31 an ounce by 11.37am EST (0337 Wednesday AEDT), having peaked at $US1,667.41.
US gold futures were up $US29.50 an ounce at $US1,660.30. Prices are up around six per cent this year after falling 10 per cent in December.
Silver was up 1.1 per cent at $US30.25 an ounce.
Platinum was up 2.1 per cent at $US1,524.24 an ounce, having earlier hit a six-week high, while spot palladium was up 2.7 per cent at $US653.50 an ounce.
BASE METALS
Copper rallied to its highest price in nearly three months, as upbeat Chinese economic data fed hopes that officials in the world’s top metals consumer will try to stimulate growth.
Daily copper trading volume was heavy again, as investors kept betting on the metal’s upbeat supply/demand prospects in 2012 while brushing aside Europe’s debt woes. Buying was also encouraged by a downbeat fourth-quarter production report from global miner Rio Tinto, and another large inventory withdrawal from London warehouses.
London Metal Exchange (LME) benchmark copper peaked at $US8,262 a tonne, its highest since the end of October, before ending the day up $US111 at $US8,200.
In New York, the key March COMEX contract shot up by 9.25 US cents, or 2.5 per cent, to settle at $US3.7295 per lb, after moving from $US3.5940 to its own multi-month peak at $US3.7590.
Volumes stood near 70,000 lots in late New York trade, nearly two-thirds above the 30-day norm, according to preliminary Thomson Reuters data.
Falling inventories of copper in LME-monitored warehouses point to improving demand.
Copper stocks fell 1,150 tonnes to 353,425 tonnes, their lowest in more than 13 months.
A sharp drop in Rio Tinto’s fourth-quarter copper output added to the bullish fundamental picture.
In aluminium, LME stockpiles grew to a record above five million tonnes.
Aluminium ended up three per cent at $US2,227 a tonne, after hitting a two-and-a-half-month high at $US2,228.
ENERGY
Oil prices have climbed in New York on positive US and Chinese economic data and after Saudi Arabia said it would like to keep prices high at around $US100 a barrel, analysts said.
But Brent crude fell slightly in London on Tuesday, with trading volatile as expected on the first day’s trading of its March contract.
New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in February, jumped $US1.72 ($A1.67) to $100.42 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for March dipped 11 cents to $111.24 in late London deals, also on news that Nigeria’s unions had ended a week-long strike over fuel costs following the president’s decision to reduce petrol prices.
