Commodities shot up after Hurricane Ida

Highlights:

• ENERGY:
  Brent oil futures were near $72 a barrel. Meanwhile, the WTI hovered near $69.
  Natural gas advanced by 0.14% at $4.31 per mmBtu in New York.
• METALS:
  Spot gold raised by 0.2% at $1,813.16 per ounce.
  Comex silver for September delivery was trading with an increase of $0.12 at $24.08 an ounce.
  Copper lost 0.23% or Rs 1.65 to Rs 721.70 per kg on the Multi Commodity Exchange.
• AGRICULTURAL:
  Corn and soybeans prices have steadied in the US.
  

Hurricane caused abrupt movements in crude oil

Crude oil traded with a decline on Tuesday, set to record its most significant monthly loss since October 2020. 

After Hurricane Ida’s massage this weekend, crude production started recovering.

At the time of writing, Brent oil futures were near $72 a barrel. Meanwhile, the WTI hovered near $69.

Many traders betted that the hurricane would seriously damage crude oil refineries. However, it appears that the damage will not be as extensive as expected a few days ago. Therefore, although the staff has been evacuated and the activity has been blocked, it will return to normal in the coming days. 

On the other hand, OPEC has anticipated that it will increase production in the coming days. It is something that works against the price of oil. Now the issue of demand causes some confusion. Analysts believe that OPEC will take advantage of the prices, increasing production. 

Natural gas recovered from yesterday’s correction

The natural gas price advanced by 0.14% at $4.31 per mmBtu in New York. after Monday’s loss. It became known that the structural damage caused by the hurricane on gas refineries is much lower than expected. The supply of natural gas could slow down in the short term, but it is likely to recover quickly. In such circumstances, the market may correct a bit. In addition, the price has already been at very high levels for a long time so the correction was seen as something positive. 

Spot gold expanded after a loss posted yesterday

Gold prices returned to four-week highs posted on Tuesday and raised by 0.2% at $1,813.16 per ounce. Gold futures also rose by 0.2% to $1,816.10.

The market has already absorbed much of the information released by the Federal Reserve at its Jackson Hole meeting. Analysts believe that we could see the precious metal swinging sideways all week. 

The questions generated in the gold market will be answered on Friday, depending on whether job data comes out according to expectations or not. The data will serve as a reference to some traders who are focused on grasping if we are going to be able to recover from the coronavirus or not. In any case, gold tends to move erratically so analysts suggest keeping the size of your positions relatively small.

Silver could replace several rare metals in touch screen manufacturing

It has become indispensable for the manufacture of certain consumer electronic devices to secure a stable supply of raw materials. 

Geopolitical conflicts have made these materials difficult to extract, and their price keeps skyrocketing. Due to these reasons, one of the lines of research that technology companies keep running is to replace these minerals with cheaper ones. 

Indium, used in touch screen manufacturing, is a very scarce mineral and, therefore, its price is high. Its demand is growing due to the increase in the manufacture of devices equipped with touch screens. Behnam Akhavan, a professor at the University of Sydney, and his team have spent years researching the substitution of indium tin oxide for other minerals in the manufacture of touch screens. They have discovered alternatives such as silver and tungsten oxide sheets on glass plates. However, neither tungsten nor silver is considered especially abundant, they are much less rare than indium.

Comex silver for September delivery was trading with an increase of $0.12 at $24.08 an ounce. 

Weak demand weighs on Copper

Copper futures slid on Tuesday in India. The red metal lost 0.23% or Rs 1.65 to Rs 721.70 per kg on the Multi Commodity Exchange. Participants cut their positions amid reduced demand in the domestic market.

According to analysts, speculators reducing positions because of muted demand in the spot market led to the decline in copper prices. 

Corn and soybeans hold steady after the hurricane

Corn and soybeans prices steadied after Hurricane Ida weighed on significant US agriculture terminals. 

Soybean futures increased by 0.2% to $13.055 a bushel in Chicago after three days of declines. 

The storm shakes up grain exports in the country’s busiest agricultural port. According to Commerzbank AG analyst, Michaela Helbing-Kuhl companies have been concerned about disrupted shipments which weighed agricultural commodity prices. However, the possibility of reduced export capacities and lower US supply supported corn and soybean prices.