WORLD COMMODITIES TRADING
Russia nears 100pc compliance with oil production target
Russia’s oil production inched down to 11.23 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of October, official Russian data showed on Wednesday, yet Moscow is still several thousand barrels above its quota under the OPEC+ production cut deal.
In the first two weeks of October, Russia’s production dropped by 19,700 bpd from September, to average 11.23 million bpd, which is still above Russia’s production ceiling of 11.191 million bpd in the OPEC+ deal. Moscow’s compliance rate with its share of the cuts is nearly 84 percent so far this month, news agency TASS has estimated. Russia is taking the lion’s share of the non-OPEC cuts under the agreement, vowing to reduce production by 230,000 bpd from a very high level of 11.421 million bpd it pumped in October last year.
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World oil prices down on Chinese economic data
Oil prices edged lower on Friday, as concerns about China’s economy outweighed bullish signals from its refining sector, but losses were limited on hopes for progress toward a US-China trade agreement.
Benchmark Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 fell 49 cents to settle at $59.42 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures lost 15 cents to settle at $53.78 a barrel.
For the week Brent fell 1.8%, while WTI lost 1.7%.
China’s economic growth slowed to 6% year-on-year in the third quarter, its weakest in 27-1/2 years and short of expectations due to soft factory production and continuing trade tensions with the United States.
China’s September refinery throughput, however, rose 9.4% year on year, a signal that petroleum demand from the world’s biggest oil importer remained robust despite economic headwinds.
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Gold ends week steady
Gold steadied on Friday, helped by a weaker dollar, with the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, uncertainties over US-China trade and fears of a global slowdown keeping bullion on track for a small weekly gain.
Spot gold was little changed at $1,490.70 an ounce as of 01:32 p.m. EDT (1732 GMT), holding in a relatively tight range for most of the session. US gold futures settled 0.3% lower at $1,494.10 an ounce.
Britain and the European Union sealed a new Brexit deal on Thursday, but whether that deal will be approved by the British parliament on Saturday is keeping markets on edge.
The auto catalyst palladium fell 0.6% to $1,747.70 an ounce, a day after hitting a record high of $1,783.21. The metal was still up 3% so far this week. Platinum gained 0.3% to $890.14 while silver edged 0.2% higher to $17.55.
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Turkey’s dairy production down in August
Turkey’s dairy production went down on an annual basis in August, according to Turkish Statistical Institute on Oct. 11. The amount of milk collected from cows dropped by 7.4 percent year-on-year to 777,969 tons in August, TÜİK said in a statement. Integrated dairies produced 112,365 tons of drinking milk, marking a 13.1 percent drop during the same period. TÜİK data showed that cheese production from cow’s milk slipped 10.4 percent on a yearly basis to reach 54,439 tons in August. The country produced 107,264 tons of yoghurt in the month, down 0.2 percent from August 2018.
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LME aluminium may retest support at $1,710
LME aluminium may retest a support at $1,710 per tonne this week, a break below which could cause a fall to $1,653. The support is identified as the 50 percent projection level of a downward wave C from $1,951.
This wave has a minimum target at $1,653. The sharp fall on Oct. 11 high of $1,754 has almost reversed the bounce triggered by the support. This reversal signals a continuation of the wave C. A rise above the Aug. 29 low of $1,734 could signal the extension of the bounce towards $1,767.
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China sets 2020 sugar import quota at 1.95mn tonnes
China set the 2020 sugar import quota at 1.945 million tonnes, the commerce ministry said on Monday. Among the total import quota for the commodity, 70 percent would be allocated to state-owned firms. Companies applying for the quota must have processed 600 tonnes and more raw sugar per day in 2018, or sold 450 million yuan ($63.73 million) and more worth of sugar during the year.
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Copper ticks up on trade progress
Copper prices rose on Monday on signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks and supply disruptions in parts of South America, but gains were capped by disappointing Chinese import/export data and caution about prospects for a final trade deal. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday outlined the first phase of a deal to end a trade war with China and suspended a threatened tariff hike on Oct. 15, raising hopes of an easing in the 15-month dispute that has hurt global growth and metals demand. Copper’s gains were limited, however, as U.S. and Chinese officials said much more work was needed before an accord could be agreed, while demand for the metal remained subdued. The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended up 0.1 percent at 46,970 yuan ($6,650.71), having risen as much as 0.6 percent during Asian trading hours. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was little changed by 0713 GMT, reversing an earlier 0.5 percent rise.
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China sets 2020 minimum purchasing price for wheat at 2,240 Yuan per tonne
China said on Saturday it had set the 2020 minimum purchasing price for wheat at 2,240 yuan per tonne, the same level as 2019. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) made the announcement on its website. China buys wheat from farmers at the minimum price when the market price drops below that level. The NDRC also announced that it had set the volume of wheat purchased at minimum price at 37 million tonnes in 2020, restricting the volume the government would buy compared to the previous year.