Commodity Capsule: Brent crude oil recovers from 5-month low; gold steady, copper flat | Watch video

Commodity Capsule: Oil prices recovered from a five-month low on Thursday.

Investors remained concerned about sluggish demand and economic slowdowns in the US and China.

Brent crude futures inched higher to $74.70 a barrel level.

WTI crude futures recovered after slipping under $70 a barrel in the previous session for, the first time since last June.

Bearishness was a result of higher product fuel inventories

Gasoline stocks rose by 5.4 million barrels in the week to 223.6 million barrels, according to the EIA, far exceeding expectations for a one million-barrel build.

First time in a year, the market structure for Brent contracts switched to trade in contango, with contracts for near-term delivery cheaper than six months later.

Chinese customs data showed that crude imports in November fell 9% from a year earlier.

London copper prices were flat, hovering at three-week lows, on Thursday amid strong imports from China and a firm dollar index.

Strong performances in the U.S. dollar so far this week weighed on the greenback-priced metal.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange held its ground under $8,300/metric ton. Red metal is set for its first weekly decline in four weeks.

The dollar index was steady but gained nearly 1% so far this week. The unit was on course for its strongest weekly performance since mid-July.

China's data showed exports in November grew for the first time in six months.

Yangshan copper premium rose to $112.50 a ton, clawing back to the one-year high level hit earlier this month.

Chinese customs data showed Copper November imports surged 10.1 per cent month-on-month and about 2 per cent year-on-year (YoY).

Gold prices moved little on Thursday as traders hunkered down in anticipation of more cues on a cooling U.S. labor market.

The market's focus remained on when the Federal Reserve planned to begin trimming interest rates.

Yellow metal is in a trading range between $2,020 and $2,050 an ounce, after briefly surging to record highs above $2,100 earlier this week.

Traders were now focused on nonfarm payroll data for November, due on Friday, for any more cues on the labor market.

Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep rates on hold next week, however, markets were uncertain over when it could begin loosening policy.

Raw sugar futures on ICE sank to a five-month low in the previous session.

Speculators continued to liquidate their long position amid an improving outlook for production in Brazil and news that India is moving to boost sugar output.

March raw sugar closed 7 per cent down nearly 23 cents per lb, the lowest price since early July.

Larger-than-expected sugar production in Brazil had eased supply tightness and contributed to the current bout of long liquidation by investment funds.

2023/24 sugar production in Brazil was now expected to be around 41.5-42.0 million metric tons.

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