Commodity Capsule: Brent crude oil slips; gold set for worst week; copper rises

Commodity Capsule: Oil prices drifted lower in a tight range around $78-79 a barrel on Friday after rallying the day before.

Geopolitical tensions and disruptions in US oil production from a cold blast were countered by concerns over slow demand growth in China and ample supply forecasts.

Brent and WTI crude benchmarks gained about 2 per cent on Thursday as the International Energy Agency forecasted strong growth in global oil demand this year.

IEA raised its 2024 global oil demand growth forecast and said the market looked well supplied because of strong growth outside OPEC.

IEA expects world oil supply to rise by 1.5 million bpd to a new high of 103.5 million bpd in 2024, fuelled by rising output from the United States, Brazil, and Canada.

US Energy Information Administration reported a larger-than-expected draw in crude inventories of 2.5 million barrels on strong demand from refineries in the week ended January 12.

About 40 per cent of oil output in North Dakota remained shut-in due to extreme cold weather and operational challenges.

Gold prices were set on Friday for their worst week in more than a month.

Dollar and Treasury yields strengthened after US central bankers pushed back against expectations of early rate cuts amid signs of resilience in the economy.

Global gold edged $20 higher from the previous session past to $2,020 per ounce. The yellow metal has fallen 1.4 per cent so far in the week.

The US dollar index is up nearly 1 per cent so far this week.

Yields on the benchmark US 10-year Treasury notes touched a fresh five-week high of 4.16 per cent.

US jobless claims fell last week to the lowest level since late 2022, suggesting job growth likely remained solid in January.

European Central Bank warned in minutes from its most recent meeting that it was far too soon to discuss policy easing.

Copper rose on Friday as the dollar retreated, but was headed for a weekly loss on weak Chinese economic data and a generally stronger greenback.

Copper on the London Metal Exchange rose past $8,300 per metric ton. The contract was set for the fourth straight weekly decline.

The dollar eased on Friday, but it was headed for a second weekly gain in a row on signs of resilience in the US economy and caution about rate cuts from central bankers.

ICE raw sugar settled up higher past 23 cents per lb​, the highest in over six weeks.

Catch latest stock market updates here. For all other news related to business, politics, tech, sports and auto, visit Zeebiz.com.