The ounce of gold reached 1’779.53 dollars this week. Copper takes on colors and the price of sugar melts.
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Gold rose again this week, reaching a new high in seven and a half years, driven in particular by the fall in the dollar.
On Wednesday, the ounce of gold thus reached 1,779.53 dollars, a level more seen since October 2012, before going down a little.
The rise was particularly noteworthy at the start of the week, as the dollar weakened: gold being denominated in green notes, a fall in this makes the precious metal less expensive for investors using other currencies.
Furthermore, “the combination of negative real yields (on government bonds) with the prospect of higher inflation, due to the massive increase in the money supply, pushed up prices”, said Neil Wilson, analyst for Markets.com.
“Gold has been an obvious winner in the pandemic,” added Fiona Cincotta, for City index.
Since March and the worldwide expansion of COVID-19, the precious metal, considered a safe haven in times of uncertainty, has indeed recorded steady gains and reached peaks several times in seven and a half years.
On the London Bullion Market, an ounce of gold was worth 1,756.16 dollars Friday around 3:05 p.m. GMT (5:05 p.m. in Paris), against 1,743.87 dollars the Friday before at the close.
The sought after copper
The copper price appreciated this week on the London Metal Exchange (LME), finding Friday a high since the end of January, supported by the risks weighing on the supply of the world’s leading producer of red metal, Chile.
“As demand seems to gradually normalize again in China and elsewhere, metal market players are turning to supply,” said Eugen Weinberg of Commerzbank in a note.
Their attention stopped on Chile, hard hit by the coronavirus epidemic with more than 250,000 contaminations and nearly 5,000 deaths.
On Thursday, the public company Codelco, which accounts for no less than 11% of world copper production, announced the temporary closure of its Chuquicamata mine, located in the Antofagasta region (north), due to the epidemic of coronavirus.
Concerns “about a massive production surplus on the copper market that prevailed in March have now given way to the expectation of a deficit. In response, the price of copper has reached its highest in five months “and is now approaching the 6,000 dollars it has not seen since January 24, added Mr. Weinberg.
On the LME, the tonne of copper for delivery in three months peaked at 5,953.50 dollars Friday at 3:10 p.m. GMT (5:10 p.m. in Paris), against 5,849.50 dollars the Friday before at the close.
Overabundance of sugar
Sugar prices sagged this week, penalized by an overabundant supply and a Brazilian real at half mast.
“The global market is flooded with sugar,” said Jack Scoville, analyst at Price Group.
Relatively low oil prices, around 40 dollars a barrel this week against more than 60 dollars at the start of the year, are in question because they do not encourage the transformation of sugar cane into ethanol, which has become less competitive. to black gold.
The weakness of the Brazilian real is also a handicap for sugar prices. When the currency of the world’s leading producer is weakened, exporters can afford to accept lower prices on the international market, since they are set in dollars and thus make a profit by converting their earnings into reais.
This week, the Brazilian currency depreciated by almost 3% against the greenback, and by more than 25% since the start of the year.
In London, a tonne of white sugar for delivery in August was worth $ 344.90 at around 3:05 p.m. GMT (5:05 p.m. in Paris), against $ 368.30 the Friday before the close. In New York, the pound of raw sugar for October delivery was worth 11.58 cents, up from 12.18 cents seven days earlier.
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