SMM, Dec. 23: on the dollar side, the dollar index fell 0.08% to 96.031, still close to the 16-month high hit at the end of last month. The dollar fell slightly against a basket of currencies on Thursday as concerns about the impact of Omicron variants eased, supporting riskier currencies such as the Australian dollar and sterling. Before the US entered the holidays and long weekends, most of the major currency pairs were in a narrow range. Optimistic news about the risks of vaccines and Omicron hospitalization also helped boost risk appetite among investors, pushing up stock markets and U.S. Treasury yields.
Us WTI crude oil futures rose on Thursday and reached their highest closing price in a month. The market ignored the impact of another release of the strategic oil reserve (SPR) by the United States. News such as virus research and vaccine efficacy boosted investor confidence in crude oil demand. Oil prices continued to be supported on Wednesday when the US Energy Information Administration reported that US crude oil stocks fell more than expected last week.
In the metals market, Lomalco rose to a two-month high on Thursday, up more than 6 per cent since Monday's close as surging energy prices raised concerns about rising production costs and smelter closures. 17:00 London time (01:00 Beijing time)), LME aluminum for three-month delivery rose 0.76 per cent to $2846 a tonne after hitting $2850 in intraday trading, the highest since Oct. 26. Aluminium prices have risen more than 40 per cent so far this year, or the biggest annual increase since 2009. The inventory of aluminium with warehouse receipts in LME registered warehouses has fallen to 731500 tonnes from 861600 tonnes on December 14, indicating a tight supply. London lead night market plunged sharply, continued to weaken, down 2.28%.
The metal in the inner market was mixed, and the trend of Shanghai Aluminum was different from that of the outer disk. Although the decline narrowed at night, it still recorded a drop of 0.05%. Shanghai lead also performed poorly, down 1.15%, and Shanghai tin continued to rise, up more than 2%, and recorded an increase of 2.17%.
In terms of black, all rose, with both coking coal and coke up by more than 2%, iron ore by nearly 3%, thread by 1.98%, hot coil by 2.13%, and stainless steel by 1.06%.
In precious metals, gold futures rose on Thursday to their highest closing price in five weeks and rose 0.4 per cent this week. Investors are still assessing the impact of the spread of the Omicron mutant on next year's economic outlook.
U. S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the S & P 500 at an all-time high. Studies have shown that people infected with Omicron have a lower risk of hospitalization than other strains, easing investors' concerns about the virus. The core PCE price index of the United States hit its highest level since 1989 in November. The Dow rose 196.67 points, or 0.55%, to 35950.56; the Nasdaq rose 131.48, or 0.85%, to 15653.37; and the S & P 500 rose 29.23, or 0.62%, to 4725.79. The US market is closed on Friday for the Christmas holiday. Trading in US stocks was relatively light before the Christmas holiday.
