The silver price takes off and LNG also surges. Coffee is also up sharply and oil is steady. Business Advantage PNG’s monthly overview of commodity and financial markets.

Silver bullions. Credit: Pixabay

The silver price soared by more than a third in a month, according to Kina Securities.

It was up by 35.6 per cent over that period and is up 36.7 per cent for the year to date. According to Zero Hedge, the jump is a response to a long bear market in the precious metal.

‘With many bull traps, aka short-lived spikes in the price, and now with central banks committing more Acts of Printing than ever before, and with gold already having gone up near its high in the US and breaking out to new highs in many other currencies, a bull market in silver would seem to make sense,’ Zero Hedge said.

Oil and gas

LNG prices also rose sharply, by 6.5 per cent over the month. However, it is still down 49.3 per cent for the year to date, according to Kina. The price for Brent Crude was steady, rising by 4.3 per cent over the last month, and is trading at US$43.50 a barrel. But it is still down by about a third for the year to date.

Other metals

The gold price continued its steady rise; it was up by 9.8 per cent over the month and is at US$1955.40 an ounce. It is up 28.4 per cent for the year to date, according to Kina.

The copper price was also stronger, rising by 7.6 per cent over the month, although it is only up by 3.6 per cent for the year to date. It is trading at US$2.90 a pound.

Agribusiness

Cocoa prices were down slightly, falling by 1.2 per cent over the month. For the year to date, the price is down by a tenth.

The coffee price rose strongly, with a jump of 11.9 per cent for the month. However this only reverses some of the previous losses and it is down 14.9 per cent for the year to date.

Cocoa prices. Credit: TradingEconomics

The Malaysian palm oil price also clawed back recent losses, rising by 14.7 per cent over the month. It is still down by 8.5 per cent for the year to date.

Equities

In a sign of thin trading, the KSi Home Index (stocks listed only in Papua New Guinea) did not move over the month and is up 1.4 per cent for the year to date. The KSi index, which includes dual-listed stocks, also did not move over the month, and is down 18.2 per cent for the year to date.

The Australian All Ordinaries Index was up 4.3 per cent over the month, but is down by 9.3 per cent for the year to date. The S&P 500 rose by 6.1 per cent over the month despite the looming recession in the United States.

Shares in the dual-listed Newcrest Mining, which operates the Lihir mine in PNG, rose on the Australian Securities Exchange by 15.7 per cent over the month; the shares are up by a fifth this year.

The kina was steady against the US dollar but fell by 3.8 per cent over the month against the Australian dollar and 3.9 per cent against the New Zealand dollar. It was 1.7 per cent weaker over the month against the Japanese yen.

Half year Treasury Bills are trading at 4.71 per cent, while full year Bills are trading at 7.18 per cent. Inscribed stock for 2020-22 is yielding 8.04 per cent.