Commodity Capsule: Brent crude oil stable; gold under pressure | Watch video

Commodity Capsule: Oil prices stabilised on Monday after sharp falls last week, amid continued attempts to reach a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestinian conflict even as the US planned new strikes on Iran-backed groups.

Brent crude futures inched up to $78 a barrel. US West Texas.

Intermediate futures edged towards $73 a barrel.

Both benchmarks ended last week down about 7 per cent. 

They fell over 2 per cent on Friday after stronger-than-expected US jobs data suggested interest rate cuts could be further out than expected.

However, investors remained wary of any escalation in the Middle East conflict, after the US signaled further strikes on Iran-backed groups in the Middle East.

Base metals opened in red on Monday because of the stronger US dollar and on expectations that subdued demand will outweigh tight supply this year.

Copper on the London Metal Exchange slips to the $8,450 level, having shed 0.7 per cent in the previous week.

Copper lost on US Federal Reserve's remarks last week that pushed back on the idea of an interest rate cut as early as March.

Traders clawed back bets for aggressive rate cuts by the Fed this year as the dollar rose to an eight-week high against its major peers.

Base metals are in for a subdued 2024 with weak demand damping any bullish supply pressures, as per the latest Reuters poll of analysts.

Only copper and aluminium are expected to see higher average prices this year and expected gains relative to 2023 are highly modest.

Spot trade in China slowed down recently as market participants gradually started the Lunar New Year holiday, which will officially kick off on Saturday.

Gold prices edged lower on Monday, as dollar and Treasury yields jumped after a blowout US jobs report dashed hopes for early interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

Global gold slipped to $2,050 per ounce.

The dollar index rose to an eight-week high, while yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rose to more than 4 per cent.

Data from the US Labor Department showed on Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 353,000 jobs in January, almost double the 180,000 forecast by economists polled by Reuters.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell last week dismissed the idea of lowering interest rates in the spring but voiced confidence that inflation would return to the central bank's 2 per cent target.

Traders are betting on five quarter-point Fed rate cuts for 2024, down from six last Monday.

Chicago soybeans lost more ground on Monday, with prices dropping to their lowest levels in more than two years.

The strengthening dollar and lacklustre demand for US cargoes provided headwinds to the market.

Corn slid to a one-week low, while wheat fell for the second session in a row.

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