Day: 17 May 2024

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China is a major and critical world supplier and full decoupling may be impossible

Cargo shipping containers

Chinese firms are becoming increasingly optimistic about a rise in trade exports, as there is little evidence of global companies completely decoupling from China, Allianz Trade reports.

More than one in ten Chinese exporters, ranking as the second-largest exporter of goods to the U.S. following Mexico, anticipate an increase in exports.

While a total decoupling of supply chains from China may not occur, the option for diversification remains open.

The global economy is so interlinked it is virtually impossible to decouple China

See report here.

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China’s Baidu has exceeded revenue expectations, thanks to a resurgence in advertising and the expansion of its cloud services

Baidu

Baidu, one of China’s leading search engine firms, surpassed analysts’ revenue forecasts for the Q1 on Thursday 16th May 2024.

This was predominately due to a recovery in advertising revenue and a surge in demand for its AI-driven cloud products.

The company announced a revenue of 31.51 billion yuan ($4.37 billion) for the quarter ending 31st March 2024, exceeding the average analyst projection of 31.21 billion yuan, according to a latest dataset.

Shares of Baidu listed in the U.S. saw an approximate 3% increase in premarket trading.

The tech giant has been actively enhancing its sales efforts focused on AI-centric products and services.

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Does the recent precious metal rally in gold, silver and platinum have further to go? Some analysts think so

Precious metal rally

Precious metal prices received a significant uplift on Thursday 16th May 2024 following the release of better-than-expected U.S. inflation data, which increased the likelihood of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, again.

Gold prices reached their highest point in over three weeks on Thursday too, while silver achieved its highest price in over three years, and platinum ascended to a peak close to its one-year high.

According to strategists in a recent comment, gold prices might soon approach the $2,400 again, silver could rise to as much as $30 per ounce, and platinum has the potential to hit $1,130 per ounce.

Silver price per ounce 16th May 2024 – chart snapshot

Gold price per ounce 17th May 2024 – chart snapshot