Aluminium prices slipped to their lowest level in more than four years as falling demand due to the new coronavirus and expectations of a large surplus this year were reinforced by rising stocks. Benchmark aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.8 per cent at $US1,465 a tonne, a […]
Day: April 8, 2020
Gold steady as markets await Fed minutes
Gold prices held steady as investors awaited the release of minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, which is expected to provide further clues on stimulus measures amid rapid surge in coronavirus cases. Spot gold were little changed at $US1,648.43 per ounce, having hit a near one-month high on […]
Oil price up on hopes of production cuts
Oil futures strengthened late in the session, buoyed by hopes that OPEC and its allies will strike a production cut agreement on Thursday. Crude has collapsed in 2020 because of a slide in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic and excess supply. Brent dropped to $US21.65, its lowest since 2002, […]
Global stocks dip as virus death toll up
World stocks have turned negative as the coronavirus death toll mounted and euro zone finance ministers failed to agree a rescue package to help economies recover from the impact of the outbreak. COVID-19 hospitalisations seemed to be levelling off in New York state, but deaths across the United States jumped […]
Mortgage lending fell as COVID-19 loomed
The value of new home loans fell by a worse-than-expected 1.7 per cent in February even before the most serious coronavirus lockdown measures were in place. Economists had tipped the total value of housing loans to slow from 4.6 per cent growth in January as the COVID-19 outbreak emerged into […]