Commodity prices remained volatile on Tuesday as investors weighed their bets on the expected speed of recovery from the Coronavirus outbreak of the world economies. While Gold prices went up after the IMF cut its growth forecast for global economy significantly, the stimulus package announced by several governments is supporting the price of Base Metals and Copper.
Gold
A slew of negative reports from international agencies on the outlook for the global economy led to investors showing faith in Gold assets on Tuesday. Spot Gold prices went up by 0.8 percent to close at $1727.7 per ounce on Tuesday. The IMF (International Monetary Fund) stated that the world economy might contract by 3 percent in 2020 as the halt in economic activities around the globe might lead to the steepest plunge since the Great Depression of the 1930’s.
In order to control the steep decline in economic activity, major central banks around the globe have decided to roll out stimulus packages to boost their economies. While the US has decided to pump in $2 trillion in its economy, European nations are also taking measures to sustain economic activity.
Silver
On Tuesday, spot silver prices ended higher by 2.33 percent to close at $15.8 per ounce whereas prices on the MCX ended higher by 0.58 percent to close at Rs.43756 per kg.
Crude Oil
Despite the historic pact between the OPEC+ nations to cut down oil production collectively, Tuesday turned out to be bad for Crude oil prices. There was a 10 percent plunge in the prices of crude oil in the international market as it closed at $20.1 per barrel. Last week, OPEC and its allies had decided to trim their production by 19.5 million barrels per day over a period of time.
However, industrial activities are witnessing a standstill, demand from the aviation sector and other means of transport has also taken a severe hit.
Base Metals
While the Indian markets were closed on Tuesday, Base metal prices on the LME ended positive except for ‘Lead’ which ended lower by 1.57 percent. Robust stimulus measures by major central banks amid expectation of demand recovery in China supported the industrial metal prices. Prices were also supported after witnessing a strong bounce back in China’s factory activities in March 2020.
However, weaker international demand amid the widening impact of the pandemic on the global economy weighed on the prices. Moreover, industrial activities are expected to remain subdued even after the lockdown is lifted.
Copper
Tuesday was a good day for Copper prices on London Metal Exchange. The prices ended higher by 2.86 percent to close at $5163 per tonne amid expectations of demand recovery in China, which is the biggest consumer of copper in the world.
(By : Prathamesh Mallya, Chief Analyst Non Agri Commodities and Currencies, Angel Broking Ltd.)
