Energy
Oil prices continue to rise for the third week in a row. Brent crude oil gains 4.94% this week and rises to $78.03 per barrel.
WTI crude oil rises 4.91% to $73.95 per barrel.
With demand rising and supply chain bottlenecks continuing, this is boosting crude oil prices at the moment.
In the Gulf of Mexico, the repair work continues. Meanwhile, more than 80% of the oil-producing industry is back online. Full oil production, however, will probably not be available again until early 2022. Royal Dutch Shell has stated in a media release that repairs to an oil rig will continue until the end of 2021.
Another factor that gives oil prices just a tailwind is OPEC and its alliances OPEC+. In the middle of the year, OPEC+ has increased the per day production, but at the moment sees no reason to further increase the production volume until the end of the year. According to the information, due investments for the maintenance of oil production facilities were not made during the COVID period, so it is not possible to increase the production volume at present. The U.S., meanwhile, has switched to Iraqi and Canadian crude.
What did the stocks of the biggest oil producers do this week?
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) +10.35%.
Exxon Mobile Corp. (NYSE: XOM) +4.41%
Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) +3.97%
BP (NYSE: BP) +3.96%
Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) +3.06%
Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A) +4.01%
TotalEnergies SE (NYSE: TE) +4.55%
Stocks of oil producers have thus continued to be on the upswing since the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
The uranium price remains below the $50 mark this week at $48.05. Experts around uranium see huge potential in the coming months and years. The recent positive news gives the appearance of optimism to believe, as many countries are beginning to realize that around the issue of reliable and clean energy, there is probably no way around uranium. Japan, China, and the UK to name a few examples. Also in the U.S., a rethinking will have to take place around the topic of uranium. According to the IEA, 20% of U.S. electricity comes from nuclear power plants at the moment.
Precious Metals
The gold price had to let feathers this week again and hangs at the moment just above the $1750 mark at $1750.40 per ounce.
The news of the Fed to maintain the current monetary policy and to postpone the tapering to a later date gives the markets further impetus. This sentiment is not exactly bullish for gold, however, the question remains why the gold price does not fall further. Presumably, investors are beginning to see the risk that their purchasing power is slowly disappearing with high inflation or the danger that lurks from China in the form of Evergrande. Even if the Fed does not want to admit that, the markets work in cycles. Whenever the bull climbs the stairs, the bear will eventually come out of hiding. Corrections are a normal part of cycles and they are not called market cycles for nothing. The consequences of the excessive debt will soon become apparent and then the gold price will also shine again.
The price of silver this week has further weakened to $22.37 per ounce which means a loss of 1.07%. The silver paper market continues to give low silver prices, which is evident at the moment. The silver sentiment is absolutely bullish given the industrial applications in which silver is used such as electric vehicles and solar cells. In addition, there were currently repeatedly reports that the demand for physical silver is increasing, which means that private investors put silver as a hedge in their portfolio.
Base Metals
Aluminum futures traded on COMEX continue to be on the rise. YTD, aluminum futures are up 66.64% which now means a price of $3012.00 per ton.
Copper futures also continue to be up. Copper prices are up more than 93% in the last 5 years. At the moment, a ton of copper costs $9343.60. Increasing digitalization and electrification will significantly increase copper demand in the coming years. This will also require new copper deposits as the current copper mines have been in production for a very long time. The U.S. government is still taking a lateral stance on this. Recently, the Resolution copper mine in Arizona, which has the potential to supply 25% of the U.S. copper demand, was blocked by politicians.
Tin is another commodity whose price has been rising since the start of the COVID pandemic. The tin price has increased by 107% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the tin price has reached $37499.00 per ton. Especially the Delta variant, which has spread rapidly in Asia, continues to give momentum to the tin price. Tin is mainly mined in Southeast Asia.