We will have something of a respite today and tonight from oil prices because the UK and US financial markets will be shut for national holidays that somehow mark the start of the northern summer period.
London and New York house the world’s two most important oil futures market: the ICE in London where the Brent contract is traded, and Nymex in New York where the West Texas Intermediate contract is the star.
Nymex futures crude for July delivery rose $US1.38, or 1.1%, to $US132.19 a barrel on Friday.
That left it up a sharp 4.9% over the week. The current futures month reached $US135.09 on Thursday, the highest since trading began in 1983. Prices have doubled over the past year.
ICE July Brent oil added 4.8% to $US131.57 a barrel.
London reports said that Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries member, excluding Angola and Ecuador, exported 22.762 million barrels a day on tankers in the four weeks to May 4, according to Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit. That compared with 23.786 million barrels a day in the equivalent period to April 6.
Could that be a sign they are constricting output to help maintain prices at their current near record levels? Or is it a reflection that demand is slowing and shipments are down?
This fall preceded plans by Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest producer, to raise output by 300,000 barrels a day in June.
With the US driving season starting from this week we can see that the record prices for petrol are already having an impact on driver activity.
The US Highway Administration reckons that motorists drove 4.3% less in March, the largest fall ever recorded by the Government body.
The agency said that the fall in vehicle miles travelled was the first for March since 1979, which was when the second oil shock was in full swing.
The peak US petrol consumption period lasts from this weekend’s Memorial Day holiday until Labor Day in early September, as Americans take to the highways for holidays.
Almost 31.7 million Americans will journey at least 80 kilometres from home by car from today until May 26, 1% fewer than a year ago, according to a report released last week by the American Automobile Association, the largest US motorist group. .
US pump prices are still rising with Regular petrol prices (averaged nationwide) rising 4.4 US cents to a record $US3.875 a gallon on Friday according to the Association.
Oil’s big and dramatic week helped spark gold which had a third weekly gain, despite the Fed’s move on rates and forecasts about falling growth.
Inflation, speculative interest and the old ‘hedge against inflation’ story helped to push gold higher.
Gold has gained 40% over the past 12 months as oil doubled. The metal reached a record $1,033.90 an ounce on March 17.
Comex June gold $US7.50 to $US 925.80 an ounce. That left it up 2.9% over the week on top of the 4.9% jump in the previous two weeks.
July silver climbed 26.5 US cents to $US18.29 an ounce: up 7.8%. So far in 2008 silver has risen 23%, gold is up 10%.
Soybeans rose on news that Argentine farmers and the government remained locked in a dispute about the Government’s high export tariffs.
Talks last week failed to end the two-month dispute over the export taxes, raising demands on falling US stocks and pushing prices higher, especially for soybean oil, a major export from Argentina.
News of the talks’ failure Friday night saw the July soybean futures contract rise 43.25 US cents, or 3.3%, to $US13.68 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade.
It helped clip the week’s losses to less than 1%, a big turnaround in sentiment. Talks in Argentina were expected to continue over the weekend but a big demonstration involving farmers was called for Sunday, Argentine time.
Argentina is the third-largest exporter of soybeans behind the US and Brazil and the biggest shipper of vegetable oil and animal feed made from the oilseed. It is also a major exporter of wheat.
The soybean gains and cool weather in US growing regions pushed corn higher for the third week in the last four.
Reports from farmers and the US Department of Agriculture suggest the crop is behind schedule with only 26% of the crop emerged from the ground as of May 18, compared with 56% on average over the prior five years. Cool weather, heavy rains and slow plantings have been blamed.
July corn rose 4 cents to $US5.9975 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, up 1.5%.
In New York, Comex copper rose on Friday but ended the week lower overall.
July copper rose 2.35 US cents to $US3.736 a pound, but lost 2.4% over the week and earlier dropped as low as $US3.6485 on concern worries about the US economy, especially home building and general construction which are in a bad slump.
Also a worry: Chinese imports of refined copper which fell 31% in April according to China’s Customs Department. That’s a signal that the world’s largest consumer of the metal used in wires and pipes, has enough metal, or has cutback purchases because world prices are too high in its opinion.
Copper prices are still up 23% so far this year.
And, finally, the US dollar fell for a third consecutive week against the euro, the yen and fell to a 25-year low against the Australian dollar.
The Aussie dollar in turn spent all week above 95 US cents for the first time in 24 years and rose by almost 1.50 cents over the week against the greenback
The Chinese Yuan posted its biggest weekly increase this year on signs the country’s officials are accelerating the currency’s gains to curb rising prices, especially for imports of commodities and food stuffs.
The greenback fell 1.2% last week to end at $1.5762 pe
