Commodity Capsule: Gold moves further away from record-high, Brent crude hits one-week low

Commodity Capsule: Gold prices fell on Friday, retreating further from record highs hit this week

Gold futures April fell to $2,175 an ounce, shedding $40 from highs of the previous session. Gold prices were set for a fourth weekly rise in five

Sharp uptick in the dollar, following surprise interest rate cut by the Swiss National Bank, pressured metal markets.

Yellow metal had surged to record highs above $2,200 an ounce after Federal Reserve maintained its outlook for three interest rate cuts in 2024. 

Gold spent little time at these highs, as dollar rebounded sharply on dovish signals from other major central banks.

Pressure on gold came chiefly from sharp gains in the dollar, with dollar index hitting 3-week high above 104 level.

Greenback shot up as a surprise rate cut from the SNB, coupled with dovish signals from Bank of England

Signs of resilience in US economy- following an upbeat outlook from Fed and strong purchasing managers index data- provided tailwind for the dollar.

Citi sets a year-end price target of $2,300 an ounce for the yellow metal.

Copper pulled off 11-mth peaks as China jitters grow

Copper futures on the London Metal Exchange slid under $8,900 a ton, falling sharply from 11-month highs hit earlier this week.

Red metal is poised for its first weekly fall in three, down 2 per cent for the week so far.

LME copper has shed over $250 a tonne from 11 months' high of $9166 touched earlier this week

Copper was pressured by worsening sentiment towards China, with the country’s stock markets seeing steep declines on Friday

Concerns over slowing economic growth and more potential US sanctions weighed on industrial metals

But the outlook for copper markets remained tight, as recent reports suggest major Chinese copper refiners planned to curb output this year.

Oil prices slipped to 1 week low on Friday on the possibility of nearing Gaza ceasefire

Stronger dollar weighed on prices, as index surges to 3 week high past 104 mark.

Brent crude futures slipped under $85/barrel. US crude futures edged lower to $80/barrel.

Both contracts are set to end marginally lower on the week, after rising 4 per cent last week.

Oil was trading lower on reports of UN draft resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken he believed talks in Qatar could reach a Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, easing geopolitical risks in the region.

Blinken met Arab foreign ministers and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as negotiators in Qatar centred on a truce of about six weeks.

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