BENGALURU, Dec 5 Prices of rice in top exporter India slid to a three-year low this week as demand waned on ample supply from the recent summer harvest, while demand from Philippines picked up for the Vietnamese variety.
BENGALURU Prices of rice in top exporter India slid to a three-year low this week as demand waned on ample supply from the recent summer harvest, while demand from Philippines picked up for the Vietnamese variety.
(Adds comments, details; updates prices) * U.S. and China closer to agreeing tariff rollback -report * European shares recover some ground * Platinum could rise to about $1,000/oz in 2020 -UBS * GRAPHIC-2019 asset returns: http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl By Diptendu Lahiri Dec 4 Gold steadied on Wednesday, hovering near a one-month high as investors awaited clarity on U.S.-China trade talks, while palladium soared to a record high on scarce supply. Spot gold was little changed at $1,477.65 an ounce at 1250 GMT, having touched its highest since Nov. 7 at $1,484, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.1% at $1,483.30. Washington and Beijing are moving closer to agreeing on the amount of tariffs to be rolled back in a so-called Phase 1 trade deal, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing sources. "Investors are cautious about what would happen if we don't have a deal on Dec. 15, given the headlines we've been seeing in the past couple of weeks," said ING analyst Warren Patterson. A further 15% U.S. tariff on about $156 billion of Chinese imports is due to take effect on Dec. 15. "The to and fro direction in the progress of the trade war has whipsawed gold markets," Patterson said, adding that the effects of headlines on prices will grow more intense as Dec. 15 approaches. European stocks recovered some of the previous session's losses on U.S. President Donald Trump's warning that a deal with China might have to wait until after the U.S. presidential election next November. Trump had also slapped tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminium imports from Brazil and Argentina. Safe-haven gold has risen about 15% this year, mainly on the back of the 17-month trade dispute. But this month it has been trading in a $1,444-$1,478 range, which was broken on Tuesday. The U.S. House of Representatives, meanwhile, approved a bill that would require Washington to toughen its response to China's crackdown on its Uighur Muslim minority, which investors fear could threaten trade ties. Elsewhere, palladium was down 0.1% at $1,854.31 an ounce after hitting a fifth record high within a month, peaking at $1,868.69. "We continue to think that palladium price increases are not justified by the fundamentals and that prices will fall back," ABN-AMRO analysts said in a note. ABN-AMRO forecasts prices to be at $1,450 an ounce by the end of next year and $1,500 by the end of 2021. Platinum rose 0.5% to $914.24 and silver was little changed at $17.15. While the platinum market is expected to be oversupplied in 2020, it should latch on to gold and still trade up to about $1,000 an ounce next year, UBS analysts said in a note. (Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri and Asha Sistla in Bengaluru Editing by Louise Heavens and David Goodman)
(Updates prices) * China deal may be delayed until after U.S. elections - Trump * Palladium may be bound for a correction - analyst * SPDR Gold holdings fall to lowest since Sept. 19 * Specs cut bullish positions in gold, raise silver - CFTC By Diptendu Lahiri Dec 3 Gold rose to its highest in more than a week on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up trade tensions with China, Brazil and Argentina, pushing investors to safe havens, while palladium held near a record peak. Spot gold was up 0.7% at $1,472.86 an ounce by 1330 GMT, after hitting its highest since Nov. 21 at 1,473.40 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures were 0.7% higher at $1,478.90 per ounce. "Credit goes to the tariff man (Donald Trump) for the slightly higher movement we're seeing," said Saxo Bank commodity strategist Ole Hansen. Trump on Monday announced tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminium imports from Brazil and Argentina "effective immediately", opening new fronts in his trade war. The U.S. President also said a trade agreement with China might have to wait until after the U.S. presidential election in November 2020. "The effect of any news around the trade war is getting lesser and lesser with each time we have one and there seems to be no other catalyst on the horizon to break the narrow range," Hansen added. Gold has risen about 14% so far this year, mainly due to the 17-month-old trade dispute, but has been trading in a $1,444-$1,478 range since November. Also propping up bullion, weak U.S. manufacturing data on Monday dented some optimism over global economic growth after China's factory activity unexpectedly expanded at the quickest pace in almost three years in November. On the technical front, the metal continues to hold rangebound heading into year-end, MKS PAMP said in a note. Gold is "seemingly well supported around $1,450 (but) lacking any meaningful demand to break top-side resistance through $1,465-$1,470 and $1,480, the key level above this," it added. Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed ETF, SPDR Gold Trust , fell 0.7% to 889.16 tonnes on Monday, their lowest since Sept. 19. Hedge funds and money managers cut their bullish positions in COMEX gold and raised them in silver contracts in the week to Nov. 26. Elsewhere, palladium edged down 0.2% to $1,848.38 per ounce, having nearly matched an all-time peak of $1,861.71 scaled in the previous session. "How high palladium can go depends on how much the carmakers are willing to pay for steady supply of the metal," Saxo Bank's Hansen said. "However, these multiple record highs may lead to a correction soon, and we may see palladium hitting $1,800 before it gets a chance to hit the $1,900 range." Silver rose 0.7% to $17.03 and platinum was up 0.1% at $898.57 per ounce. (Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Jan Harvey)
(Adds quotes, details, updates prices) * Palladium up 46% for the year * Silver, platinum slip about 1% * China factory activity expands at quickest pace in 3 years * U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI data due at 1500 GMT By Diptendu Lahiri Dec 2 Gold prices fell on Monday after better-than-expected manufacturing data from China assuaged fears of a slowdown in global growth while deficit-ridden autocatalyst metal palladium soared to an all-time high. Spot gold slipped 0.4% to $1,457.96 per ounce by 1310 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.6% to $1,463.80 per ounce. Data showing growth in factory activity during November in China, the world's second-largest economy and biggest gold consumer, pushed up equity markets. "At least in the short-term, this kind of data will keep gold prices in check," said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke. Gold is considered a safe store of value at times of political or economic uncertainty. Demand for the metal was further pressured by the rising dollar, making dollar-denominated bullion more expensive for buyers using other currencies. On the U.S.-China trade front, reports said a preliminary agreement has now stalled because of U.S. legislation supporting protesters in Hong Kong and Chinese demands that Washington roll back its tariffs. Gold has risen more than 13% this year mainly due to the trade dispute driving demand for safe assets. "Nothing particularly has really changed (on the trade front) from last week, the market remains in the dark about how things will progress. Investor appetite for gold is just waning a little bit on lack of direction," ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes said. Pointing to lingering growth concerns, euro zone manufacturing activity contracted for a 10th straight month in November, IHS Markit's final manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) showed. Gold could move up in the medium to longer term as fears of a slowdown still exist, Julius Baer's Menke added. Investors now await manufacturing data from the U.S. later in the day. Palladium was up 0.7% at $1,853.21 an ounce, having surged to an all-time high of $1,854.40. The metal has risen about 46% this year. "The rising prices for the scarcity-hit metal have attracted a lot of carmakers who are getting cold feet. These people have taken forward positions in anticipation that prices will go even higher in the future," said Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg. Tightening emissions regulations are putting more palladium – chiefly used in vehicle exhausts to reduce harmful emissions –in each vehicle, supporting consumption even as weakening global growth hits vehicle sales. Elsewhere, silver fell 0.7% to $16.90 per ounce, platinum was down 1.03% at $890.72 per ounce. (Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Oil prices will remain subdued in 2020 as growth concerns weigh on demand and fuel a glut of crude, a Reuters poll showed on Friday ahead of production-policy talks among OPEC and its allies next week.
Gold held steady on Tuesday, after hitting its highest since Nov. 7 earlier in the session, as doubts about a trade deal between the United States and China dented risk sentiment.
* Gold neutral in narrow $1,462-$1,472/oz range- technicals * Investors await U.S. Fed minutes on Wednesday (Adds comments; updates prices) By Diptendu Lahiri Nov 18 Gold prices edged down on Monday as optimism grew about U.S.-China trade ties following a report of "constructive talks" over the weekend, while losses were capped by a softer dollar. Spot gold was down about 0.3% to $1,463.40 per ounce at 0732 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were 0.4% lower at $1,462.90. Chinese state media Xinhua reported Washington and Beijing had a high-level phone call on Saturday and that the two sides discussed each other's core issues for the first phase of an initial trade agreement. "The first phase of the deal is extremely important to investors as it will set the tone for later phases," said Hareesh V, head of commodity research at Geojit Financial Services. Asian shares advanced after Beijing surprised markets by trimming a key interest rate for the first time since 2015, stirring speculation that more stimulus was on the way for the world's second-largest economy. "A recovery in risk sentiment across Asia and investors cautiously optimistic about the phase one deal to go through before Christmas, are weighing on gold," said Margaret Yang Yan, a market analyst at CMC Markets, adding that a weak dollar limited the metal's fall. The dollar was a shade softer versus major currencies. "In all likelihood, a breakdown in trade talks remains the only scenario to breathe new life into gold prices at this time," Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst, Asia Pacific at OANDA said in a note. Investors also kept a close eye on developments in Hong Kong, with police on Monday trapping hundreds of protesters inside a major university and demonstrators rampaging through a tourist district, after almost two straight days of standoffs. Gold is considered a safe store of value during times of economic or political uncertainty. Market participants now await minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting, due on Wednesday, for clues about the future interest rate trajectory. Gold is highly sensitive to interest rates, as a lower interest reduces the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding bullion. On the technical front, spot gold looks neutral in a narrow range of $1,462-$1,472 per ounce but a break above $1,472 may lead to a gain limited to $1,480, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Among other metals, silver was down 0.6% at $16.85 per ounce, while platinum inched down 0.1% to $888.41 per ounce. Palladium rose 0.7% to $1,716.61 per ounce. (Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Subhranshu Sahu)
* Trump to speak at the Economic Club of New York later in the day
* Gold up nearly 14% this year (Adds comments; updates prices)
Warning that American democracy is at stake, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi directed a House committee on Thursday to draft articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, a historic step that sets up a fight over whether to oust him from office.