Commodity Capsule: Brent crude oil rises; gold near one-week low; copper slips | Watch video

Commodity Capsule: Oil prices rose on Thursday after data showed US crude stockpiles fell more than expected last week.

Chinese central bank's cut in banks' reserve ratio reinforced hopes of more stimulus measures and economic recovery.

Brent crude is hovering close to one-month high past $80 a barrel. For the week, Brent crude prices are up 2.5 per cent.

US crude stockpiles tumbled by 9.2 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said, more than quadrupling than forecast of a 2.15 million-barrel draw.

US crude output fell from a record 13.3 million barrels per day two weeks ago to a five-month low of 12.3 bpd last week after oil wells froze during the Arctic freeze.

Oil prices drew support from hopes for China's economic recovery.

China's central bank announced a deep cut to bank reserve in a move that will inject about $140 billion of cash into the banking system and send a strong signal of support for the fragile economy and plunging stock markets.

China said it is widening the uses for commercial property lending by banks in its latest effort to ease a liquidity crunch facing troubled real estate firms.

Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East remained in focus.

Gold prices languished near a one-week low on Thursday as the US dollar and bond yields strengthened after a strong reading of US business activity, ahead of US GDP data and ECB's policy meeting.

Yellow metal hovered $2015 an ounce after hitting a near one-week low of $2,011.06 in the previous session.

US business activity picked up in January and inflation appeared to abate suggesting that the economy kicked off 2024 on a strong note.

The dollar index is holding past the 103 level, hovering near a six-week high.

Yields on benchmark US 10-year Treasury notes edged slightly lower but were not far from a more than one-month high of 4.19 per cent touched last week.

Copper prices fell on Thursday after two straight sessions of gains, as traders, and investors reassessed optimism on policy support in China.

Copper on the London Metal Exchange is hovering at $8,550 per metric ton, the highest level since January 2, 2023.

LME Zinc has dipped slightly under three-week and Lead futures are close to a two-month high.

China's central bank announced a deep cut to bank reserves on Wednesday, a move that will inject about $140 billion of cash into the banking system and send a strong signal of support for a fragile economy.

Bloomberg report said Chinese authorities were seeking to mobilise about 2 trillion yuan as part of a stabilisation fund to buy shares onshore through the Hong Kong exchange link.

Robusta futures settled higher at $3,207/metric ton, close to highest since current form of the contract started trading in January 2008.

Attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen on commercial vessels in the Red Sea have delayed robusta shipments to Europe from Vietnam, Indonesia, and India.

ICE raw sugar ​rose 3 per cent to 24.46 cents per lb, hovering highest since early December at 24.54 cents.

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