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Highlights
- Prices of both crude oil benchmarks have remained nearly stable in the last week.
- Gold logged substantial weekly gains of 1.22% on inflationary bets and economic growth worries.
- Prices of copper, aluminium, and iron ore have tumbled more than 2% in the last week.
Commodities have witnessed a subdued demand in the last week amid lockdowns in China. In the near term, the lockdowns have weighed on both metals and energy consumption.
In the energy domain, prices of both crude oil benchmarks remained nearly stable. Benchmark Brent crude oil futures recorded a marginal weekly gain of 0.38% while WTI crude oil futures logged a weekly dip of 0.12%. However, both crude oil benchmarks exchanged hands for over US$120/bbl on Friday. Prices remain steady due to slow demand from China as the country battles with rising COVID-19 cases.
Natural gas prices have climbed 1.14% in the last week due to record power demand in Texas and sluggish outputs. The prices hit 14-year highs on 8 June 2022 to reach US$9.7 per MMBtu.
Also Read: Crude oil surges to 14-year highs on delays in Iranian talks
Image source: © 2022 Kalkine Media®
The benchmark Newcastle coal futures exchanged hands near US$392/tonne on Friday. The prices have dropped more than 5.5% in the last week amid increased production from China and India, and lower demand due to COVID-19-led restrictions in China.
Must Watch: As Russia-Ukraine War Intensifies, Commodities Also Soars
Among precious metals, gold logged substantial weekly gains of 1.22% on inflationary bets and economic growth worries. Contrary to gold, silver prices slipped marginally last week due to weak demand from the industrial sector.
Prices of base metals including copper, aluminium, and iron ore have tumbled more than 2% in the last week. The significant fall in prices of these industrial commodities was observed due to a rising output and lower demand in China.
Furthermore, prices of battery metal lithium have remained nearly stable in the last week while nickel prices have dropped more than 7% in the same duration.
Against this backdrop, let's skim through a few commodities that were popular among traders in the past week.
Data Source: Eikon Refinitiv
Here are a few significant commodities that have recorded substantial volatility in the last week.
Gold
On Friday, bullion made a solid recovery with prices hitting four-week highs on rising inflation and mounting concerns related to economic growth. Global equity indices tumbled significantly as the US inflation reached 41-year highs, suggesting that the Federal reserve could get more aggressive with rate hikes.
Crude oil
Image source: © 2022 Kalkine Media®
Both crude oil benchmarks rallied over US$120/bbl on tight supplies and record demand for the summer season. The prices reached 13-week highs on 8 June 2022 due to record demand in the US for gasoline. The prices were additionally buoyed by the expectations that China's oil demand will increase.
