Commodities:
Gold,
The darling of safe-haven investments has once again proven its holding value in 2024. Gold is mostly traded on the OTC London market, the US futures market (COMEX) and the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE). The standard future contract is 100 troy ounces. While half of the gold consumption in the world is used in in jewellery manufacturing, 40% takes the form of investment holdings, and 10% is utilised in industry.
Gold Prices per ounce increased by $546.56 USD/t oz. or by 26.50% since the beginning of 2024, according to trading on a contract for difference basis (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity.
Historically, Gold reached an all-time high of 2790.07 in October of 2024 and is currently priced at $2614.19 with a 0,85% growth achieved this week so far.
Cocoa:
The Bean of Chocolate lovers dreams has seen its futures climb further today, surpassing $12,500 per tonne and breaking the previous all-time high of nearly $12,220 set on April 15th. The increase in prices has been driven by concerns that poor rainfall in West Africa, might lead to a fourth consecutive annual crop supply deficit.
Dealers said that while the weather outlook in West Africa had improved compared to last season, it remained a concern due to the ongoing tightness of the market.
Cocoa is traded on New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in London. The prices in New York are based on the South-Asian market and prices in London are based on cocoa from Africa. The size of each cocoa contract on the NYMEX is 10 metric tons. The biggest producers of cocoa are Ivory Coast and Ghana which combined account for more than 60% of the world’s output. Current. Cocoa is currently trading at $12191 per ton and is up a massive $189,61% in 2024 and up 3,66% this week.
Brent Crude:
Brent crude oil futures fell below $73 per barrel on Friday, heading for a weekly decline and currently down by -2,85% for the week, as a strong US dollar continued to pressure the dollar-denominated commodity.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve signalled a slower pace of rate cuts next year, driving the greenback to a two-year high and raising concerns about potential impacts on fuel demand. Adding further pressure, Sinopec, China’s largest refiner, announced Thursday that the nation’s gasoline demand peaked last year, further dimming the outlook for the world’s top crude importer. Brent Crude is currently trading at $72,05 a barrel. The price is currently down over -8% for the year.
Currencies:
The Euro and Pound both lost ground to a strengthening US Dollar with the euro falling to $1.04, today, nearing its lowest level since November 2022 – the currency has been pressured by a general dollar strength after the Fed delivered a hawkish view for 2025. Year-to-date the Euro has lost 5,81% to the Dollar. The sterling edged down slightly to below $1.27, as traders digest key economic data and await the Bank of England’s monetary policy decision on Thursday. Annual inflation rate in the UK rose for a second month to 2.6% in November as expected. The pound is currently trading at 1,255 to the dollar – down -0,53% this week and -1,39% this year.
The South African rand traded near 18.4 per USD, its weakest level since early August, as the US Federal Reserve’s hawkish outlook on interest rates strengthened the dollar, adding pressure on emerging economy currencies like South Africa.
