COMMODITIES
Gold, copper surge to new highs
Posted Wed, 19 Apr 2006
Not only gold and crude oil benefited from the surge in commodities on Tuesday — even the copper price rocketed to record highs during the day.
According to Bloomberg, copper had its biggest gain in nine years in early trade in London, to reach new highs of $6.470 a metric ton — a 5.4 percent jump from yesterday's closing price. This was the biggest one-day jump, at $331 per metric ton, since late 1996.
According to analysts, the metal's surge came as a result of Chinese economic strength, with the country expected to consume even more of the metal in coming months, in turn leading to strong buying by funds.
China's economy grew by 10.2 percent in the first quarter of this year, a quicker pace than initially forecast by analysts.
The gold price also shot to fresh 25-year highs on Tuesday, to trade at $617.10 per troy ounce, a 0.5 percent gain, while New York light sweet crude oil rose to a record high of $70.88 per barrel.
The Iran-US conflict over the
Middle East country's continuing nuclear programme — which traders fear may lead to all-out military conflict — played a crucial role in boosting black gold's price.
China, however, also played its part in the price surge: it is the world's second-largest energy user, and while its first-quarter oil imports increased 25 percent, with the economy showing no sign of slowing down, this is looking likely to rise even more over the coming months.
| 
