Oil, coffee prices rally

FE Team | Published: April 13, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

LONDON, Apr 12 (AFP): Oil prices rose this week on uncertainty over energy supplies passing through Ukraine to the West, while coffee futures rebounded on tight supplies following drought conditions in Brazil.
OIL: Prices rose as tensions over Ukraine and upbeat US energy demand offset poorly-received Chinese data and the prospect of a return to normal Libyan crude exports, analysts said.
Oil prices retained upside pressure from signs of robust gasoline demand in the United States, the world's biggest economy.
The latest official US inventories report showed a drop of 5.2 million barrels of motor fuel supplies last week, far much more than the 700,000-barrel decline that had been projected.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold prices recovered from near two-month lows thanks to a weaker dollar and Ukraine concerns.
Gold rose "on a combination of the US stimulus outlook, tensions in Ukraine and signs of slowing demand from China", said Spreadex trader Lee Mumford.
The dollar meanwhile sank against the euro mid-week after the minutes to the last Federal Reserve meeting showed a clear dovish tilt among policy makers. A weaker US currency tends to make commodities cheaper for buyers holding rival currencies, pushing up demand.
BASE METALS: Copper fell on profit-taking, having soared the previous week following an earthquake in key producer Chile, while base metals rose generally overall as traders digested minutes from the last Federal Reserve policy meeting.
"Dovish Fed minutes have helped equity markets rally and also appear to have lent support to commodities," said Standard Bank analyst Leon Westgate.
Nickel meanwhile continued to win support from Indonesia's ban on exports of the metal.
"Whereas most other metal prices have remained virtually unchanged or in some cases have even fallen since the beginning of the year, the nickel price has soared by 25 per cent," noted analysts at Commerzbank.
COFFEE: Futures rebounded, with New York prices reaching the highest levels in more than two years following a Brazilian drought this year.
Arabica-quality coffee hit 207.8 US cents a pound, the highest point since February 2012.
Coffee jumped "on forecasts for dry conditions in Brazil... and on the reduced production estimates from the Brazil Coffee Association", said analyst Jack Scoville at traders Price Futures Group.
By Friday on the ICE Futures US exchange, Arabica for delivery in May increased to 204.70 US cents a pound from 176 cents a week earlier.
On LIFFE, London's futures exchange, Robusta for July stood at $2,140 a tonne compared with $2,066 for the May contract the previous week.
COCOA: Cocoa futures headed back to recent 2.5-year high points after some profit-taking.
By Friday on LIFFE, cocoa for delivery in May rose to £1,861 a tonne from £1,848 a week earlier.
On ICE Futures US, cocoa for July stood at $2,985 a tonne compared with $2,919 for the May contract the previous week.
SUGAR: Futures steadied amid a well-supplied market, according to traders.
By Friday on LIFFE, the price of a tonne of white sugar for delivery in August stood at $468.10 compared with $460.90 for the May contract a week earlier.
On ICE Futures US, the price of unrefined sugar for May dipped to 17.05 US cents a pound from 17.20 US cents.
RUBBER: Prices in Kuala Lumpur fell further as the ringgit strengthened against the US dollar, and on concerns over a supply glut amid soft demand, traders said.
The Malaysian Rubber Board's benchmark SMR20 fell to 181.85 US cents a kilo from 185.95 cents a week earlier.