Closer Look: Weaker Dollar Impacted Commodities on April 28
Copper gained strength
Copper gained strength and recovered the losses incurred in the early trading hours on April 28. The weaker dollar supported copper. At 3:05 PM EST, the COMEX copper contract for July expiry was trading at $2.23 per pound—a gain of 0.25%. The steps taken by China’s Futures Association to reduce speculations in the futures market and the decreased hopes on demand from China have been weighing on copper prices this week.
At 3:06 PM EST, major copper producers Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), Glencore (GLNCY), Rio Tinto (RIO), and BHP Billiton (BHP) gained 4.2%, 0.58%, 2.8%, and 1.9%, respectively. The Power-Shares DB Base Metals Fund (DBB) gained 0.68% and the SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) rose 3.90%.
Gold and silver stayed strong
Gold and silver stayed stronger on April 28. They were supported by the weaker dollar. The dollar weakened on April 28 as the Fed and Bank of Japan kept their monitory policy unchanged. This pulled the dollar lower. The upcoming marriage season demand in India—one of the biggest gold-consuming nations—also supported gold prices. At 3:07 PM EST, the COMEX gold contract for June delivery was trading at $1,267.85 per ounce—a gain of 1.40%. Silver was trading at $17.59 per ounce—a gain of 1.7%. The rise in gold and silver prices also supported the respective stocks on April 28.
At 3:07 PM EST, precious metal producers Barrick Gold (ABX), Newmont Mining (NEM), Royal Gold (RGLD), and Silver Wheaton (SLW) gained 5.8%, 3.10%, 3.2%, and 5.2%, respectively. At the same time, the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD) gained 1.7%. The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) gained 2.1%.
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