Investment in agricultural commodities reaches record level

Commodity market today, May 8: Raw material prices are steadily recovering Commodity market today, May 9: MXV-Index commodity price index breaks recovery streak

However, most commodities fluctuated within a narrow range, causing the MXV-Index to close the day up only 0.39% to 2,297 points.

Notably, all metal and energy commodities closed in the green. Along with that, the total trading value of the entire Exchange increased sharply again, reaching over VND8,100 billion, up to 73% compared to the previous day. In particular, the cash flow was mainly concentrated in the agricultural group, accounting for more than 50% of the total trading volume of the market, and also reaching a record high.

Thị trường hàng hóa hôm nay ngày 10/5: Đầu tư hàng hóa nhóm nông sản đạt mức kỷ lục

Weakening USD brings green to cover metal price chart

Silver led the metals market higher at the end of trading on May 9. Both precious metals benefited from the greenback’s weakness. Silver closed the day up 2.77% at $28.36 an ounce, its highest in three weeks. Platinum rose 0.63% to $990.8 an ounce, its highest in nearly a month.

Metal price list

According to data released by the US Department of Labor yesterday, the number of US unemployment benefits applications reached 231,000 in the week ending May 4, 19,000 higher than forecast and the highest level since August 2023. Meanwhile, the four-week average of benefits applications increased to 215,000, the highest level since February this year.

The data followed a report that US payrolls fell sharply and job openings fell to a three-year low, further indicating that the US labor market is under pressure. The US dollar fell sharply after the data was released, with the Dollar Index closing down 0.3% at 105.23, supporting precious metals.

For base metals, the depreciation of the US dollar is also a supportive factor for commodity prices. Moreover, optimistic economic data from China, the world's largest consumer of metals, further boosted buying of base metals. At the end of the day, the prices of two key commodities, COMEX copper and iron ore, increased by 0.94% and 0.96%, respectively.

China's merchandise exports rose 1.5 percent year-on-year in April, beating expectations by 0.5 percentage point and rebounding sharply from a 7.5 percent decline in March, according to the General Administration of Customs. Merchandise imports also jumped 8.4 percent in April, beating market expectations for a 5.4 percent increase and reversing a sharp increase from a 1.9 percent decline in March.

Customs data also showed that China's copper and iron ore imports both increased in April as the country stockpiled raw materials for the peak consumption season. Specifically, imports of unwrought and semi-finished copper reached 438,000 tonnes, up 7.5% year-on-year. Meanwhile, iron ore imports reached 101.82 million tonnes in April, up 11.35% year-on-year and 1.1% month-on-month.

Soybeans extend decline

In the agricultural market, soybeans led the decline. This commodity continued to extend its decline on the trading day of May 9, falling 1.57%, marking the third consecutive day of closing in the red. The prospect of slowing international demand for US supplies, combined with the return of positive signals about South American supplies, were factors that boosted selling pressure in the market.

Agricultural product price list

Specifically, in the Export Sales report last night, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said that the country's 2023-2024 soybean sales reached 428,898 tons in the week ending May 2, up slightly by 3.6% from the previous week and still within the market's expectations. However, the cumulative soybean exports since the beginning of the crop year are still 17.3% lower than the previous crop year, at 41.91 million tons. This shows that the US supply is under strong competitive pressure from Brazil.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian Vegetable Oil Industry Association (Abiove) has raised its forecast for the country's 2023-2024 soybean production to 153.9 million tonnes, up 100,000 tonnes from April. In Rio Grande do Sul alone, farmers had harvested about 75% of the soybean area before recent heavy rains caused flooding, with a record output of 22 million tonnes. This is also a sharp increase of 68% compared to the previous season, which has somewhat eased concerns about supply in Brazil.

In the domestic market, following the global trend, yesterday morning, May 9, the selling price of South American soybean meal at Vietnamese ports slightly decreased. In the Northern region, at Cai Lan port, the selling price of soybean meal for delivery in the second quarter of this year fluctuated around 13,050 - 13,350 VND/kg. Meanwhile, at Vung Tau port, the selling price of South American soybean meal was at 12,950 - 13,200 VND/kg.

Prices of some other goods