DBT Bureau
Pune, 28 March 2026
According to a report by Geojit Investments, global commodity markets remained volatile this week, with precious metals, crude oil, and industrial metals reacting to geopolitical tensions, U.S. policy signals, and weakening Chinese demand indicators.
- Precious metals edged higher today but remained on course for a weekly decline. Spot gold traded above USD 4,400 per troy ounce, heading for a fourth consecutive weekly loss, while spot silver hovered near USD 68 per troy ounce.
- US Dollar index, a measure of greenback against six currency rivals, traded above 100 marks.
- Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would once again extend the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz until April 8, or risk the destruction of its energy infrastructure, after Tehran earlier dismissed a 15-point U.S. proposal to end the conflict as unfair.
- The U.S. Federal Reserve chose to keep interest rates unchanged in the 3.50%–3.75% range, while cautioning that rising energy prices could trigger a fresh wave of inflation.
- Crude oil prices climbed today, but were set for a weekly loss on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump extended a 10-day pause on strikes targeting Iran’s energy facilities, although investor caution persisted as prospects for a near-term resolution to the conflict remained slim.
- China’s imports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products fell 10% year-on-year in February. The world’s top consumer imported 290,000 metric tonnes of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products in February.
- China’s unwrought copper imports declined by 16.1% year-on-year to 700,000 metric tonnes in the two months from January to February.
- Qatar Energy announced last week that the Iranian missiles that struck Qatar have caused a 17% reduction in the country’s liquefied natural gas export capacity.
