Commodity Capsule: Brent crude oil rebounds; gold hits record high; copper edged higher

Commodity Capsule: Gold surges to record high as rate concerns abate

Comex Gold jumps $40 to settle past $2207 and touches a record high of $2224 in the previous session.

Yellow metals surged over $40 to trade past $2200 an ounce, as the Fed calms rate nerves.

Fed maintains outlook for three cuts in 2024, Powell allays inflation concerns.

Precious metal has rallied 12 per cent since mid-Feb on geopolitical concerns.

Traders say robust demand from China has also been underpinning gold

The dollar slipped to a one-week low against its rivals, while benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields also dipped.

Fed funds futures traders are now pricing in a 75 per cent probability that the Fed will begin cutting rates in June, up from 59 per cent on Tuesday.

Focus now shifts to rate decisions from the Bank of England later in the day. The central bank is widely expected to keep its bank rate at 5.25 per cent, its highest level since 2008.

Oil prices rebounded on Thursday as US crude and gasoline stock drawdowns lent support.

Brent crude futures rose to $86.50 a barrel, after falling 1.6 per cent on Wednesday.

WTI crude futures climbed to $82 a barrel, after sliding 1.8 per cent in the previous session.

Crude inventories in the United States fell for a second week—US Energy Information Administration.

Stockpiles declined unexpectedly by two million barrels to 445 million barrels in the week ended March 15.

Gasoline inventories fell for a seventh week, down by 3.3 million barrels, suggesting steadily strong fuel demand.

Oil refinery runs ramped up by 127,000 barrels per day and utilisation rates rose.

Amid rising Ukrainian attacks about 7 per cent or around 370,500 barrels per day, of Russian refining capacity is down.

Prices of most base metals rose on Thursday, amid upbeat sentiment as investors eyed interest rate cuts by US central bank this year.

Copper on the London Metal Exchange edged up to $9,050/metric ton, hovering about April 2023 highs.

Shanghai copper contract climbed past 73,000 yuan per ton at a two-year high.

Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday but saw rates falling by 0.75 per cent later this year despite recent high inflation readings.

The dollar index drifted to a one-week low on Thursday, under 103 level

Copper smelter cuts in China due to low processing fees are reducing refined copper supply.

Mine closures and protests in Peru and Panama are further limiting copper supply.

The falling US dollar and rising copper demand are putting upward pressure on copper prices.

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