What’s in store for OPEC in 2019?
OPEC has come through some turbulent times in the last few years as oil prices fell to decade lows. It has implemented production cuts, has rallied Russia to climb onboard the production cut train, has weathered the rise of US shale to never-before-seen highs, has extended those production cuts, has lifted production to quell a nervous market post-Iranian sanctions, and then has managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat by agreeing to yet another production cut—and OPEC is not finished yet. OPEC’s leadership is crucial to its success. It operates under a rotating presidency, and for 2019, that honor is bestowed upon none other than Venezuela’s Manuel Quevedo.
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Oil prices steady ahead of new year
Oil prices steadied on Friday after a week of volatile trading ahead of the New Year holiday, supported by a rise in U.S. equity markets but pressured by worries about a global glut of crude.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 4 cents to settle at $52.20 a barrel, off the session high of $53.80 a barrel.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose 72 cents to settle at $45.33 a barrel, after earlier reaching $46.22 a barrel. Both benchmarks posted third straight weekly declines, with Brent losing about 3 percent and WTI nearly 0.4 percent.
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Gold stays near recent highs
Gold prices held near six-month highs hit earlier on Friday, helped by a softer dollar, concerns over slowing economic growth and wild swings in equities, putting bullion on track for a second straight week of gains. Spot gold was up 0.3 percent at $1,279.17 per ounce in New York trade and up 1.8 percent so far this week. Earlier it rose to $1,282.09, the highest level since June 19. US gold futures settled up 0.1 percent to $1,283 per ounce.
Among other precious metals, silver rose to a near-five-month high at $15.39 per ounce and was last up 0.9 percent at $15.34. It was on track for its biggest weekly gain since August 2017, up 5 percent so far this week. Platinum fell 1.4 percent to $784.65 per ounce, while palladium was down 1.9 percent to $1,251.40. Palladium has gained 1.6 percent this week.
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Malaysian palm falls more than 1pc
Malaysian palm oil futures fell more than 1 percent on Wednesday evening, extending falls into a fourth session, as the ringgit strengthened while weakness in related edible oils also weighed on the market. The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, was last up 0.2 percent at 4.1750 per dollar. A stronger ringgit usually makes palm oil more expensive for holders of foreign currencies.
The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 1.6 percent at 2,094 ringgit ($501.56) a tonne at the close of trade.
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EU strongly raises 2018 maize crop estimate, cuts wheat
The European Commission raised its estimate of 2018/19 usable maize (corn) production in the European Union to 67.5 million tonnes (mln t) from 62.9 mln t previously. In supply-and-demand data released on its website the Commission cut its estimate of 2018 common wheat (soft wheat) production to 128.5 mln t from 129.2 mln t previously.
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Soy, corn near one-month lows as favorable rains hit South America
US corn and soybean futures slumped near one-month lows on Wednesday as favorable weather in South America fueled expectations for large harvests. Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade hit their highest level since midsummer on the day of the sales. They have since dropped about 6 percent as traders said the pace of sales was slower than expected.
Most actively traded March soybean futures were down 12-3/4 cents at $8.84-1/4 a bushel by 11:45 a.m. CST (1745 GMT). The contract earlier dropped to $8.83, its lowest price since Nov. 27.
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Shanghai copper firms after 2 days of declines, growth woes cap gains
Chinese copper closed marginally higher on Wednesday after two sessions of declines, with prices capped by concerns over slowing economic growth, which is expected to curb demand for industrial metals.
Investors are fretting the global economy is slowing just as monetary conditions are tightening, with political instability in the United States leaving open the possibility of a prolonged government shutdown. The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed up 130 yuan, or 0.3 percent, at 48,040 yuan ($6,979.21) a tonne.
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Soymeal basis offers unchanged
Spot basis offers for soymeal were unchanged in the United States on Wednesday in thin trading after Tuesday’s Christmas Day holiday, dealers said. New buying was limited and dealers working with reduced staffs at soybean processors were focused primarily on shipping out existing orders, the dealers said. Chicago Board of Trade March soymeal futures were down 90 cents to $310.90 per ton at 11:04 a.m. CST (1704 GMT).
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Aluminium hits 16-month low on demand woes
Aluminium hit 16-month lows on Monday as investor worries over slowing global growth and tightening monetary conditions overshadowed news of smelter cuts in China, while copper hit a three month low. Chinese aluminium producers are set to cut at least another 800,000 tonnes per year of smelting capacity in the coming months, while Beijing plans to ratchet up support for the economy in 2019 by cutting taxes and keeping liquidity ample. Aluminium ended down 0.8 percent at $1,893 a tonne in holiday thinned trade, having hit its lowest since mid-July at $1,890, extending last week’s 16-month lows after the US lifted sanctions on Russia’s Rusal, the world’s second-largest aluminium producer.
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Cuba sees sugar recovery
After suffering from weather damage last year and into 2018, Cuban sugar production is expected to increase significantly in the current season now getting underway, a government minister said, but will still fall short of production and export totals from two years ago.
Cuba plans to produce 1.5 million metric tons of raw sugar during the harvest and export 920,000 metric tons, nearly a 50 percent increase, according to a closed-door presentation to parliament by the economy and planning minister. The harvest usually begins with a few mills operating in late November, and about 50 crunching cane by mid-January as dry and cool weather set in. Most mills close by May. This year 20 mills opened in November and at least 25 more began operations this month.