Commodities
Oil prices steady on profit-taking ahead of US job data
By Paul Carsten
LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices were broadly steady on Thursday as investors took profits from earlier gains fuelled by larger than expected declines in stocks.
futures dipped 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $84.95 a barrel by 1120 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 6 cents, or 0.1%, at $82.79. Both had registered gains in the previous session.
“Profit-taking is reasonable ahead of the U.S. jobless claims data, which will shape investors’ view on (interest) rate cuts this afternoon,” said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.
Crude inventories in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, fell by 4.9 million barrels last week, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday. That exceeds a decline of 30,000 barrels forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll and a drop of 4.4 million barrels in an American Petroleum Institute report.[EIA/S][API/S]
“Healthy demand signals from the U.S. outweigh concerns from modest Chinese growth last week,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.
“Hopes of a Fed easing (of interest rates), which can boost economic growth, and current summer travel in the U.S. are ensuring enough traction in oil demand from the world’s largest economy.”
The prospects of cuts to interest rates in both the U.S. and Europe over the coming months helped to support the market.
Federal Reserve officials said on Wednesday that the U.S. central bank is closer to cutting rates given inflation’s improved trajectory and a labour market in better balance, possibly setting the stage for a reduction in September.
U.S. economic activity expanded at a slight to modest pace from late May through early July with firms expecting slower growth ahead.
The European Central Bank, meanwhile, is all but certain to keep interest rates unchanged on Thursday, but it signalled that its next move is likely to be a cut.
However, Chinese economic growth remains a concern. Chinese leaders signalled on Thursday that Beijing would stay the course with economic policy, though few concrete details were disclosed. Together, those helped to check investor hopes of a push to boost consumption in the world’s second-largest economy.
“There is no clear signal of change in macro policies,” said Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
The dollar, meanwhile, was down for a third straight session. A weaker U.S. currency can boost demand for oil by making dollar-priced commodities cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.
Investing.com– Oil prices steadied Thursday as traders digested data showing an unexpected increase in US product inventories, while weak economic data from top importer China weighed.
At 05:25 ET (10:25 GMT), expiring in March gained 0.1% to $76.25 a barrel, while rose 0.1% to $73.37 a barrel.
The crude benchmarks had slumped more than 1% on Wednesday, but trading ranges, and volumes, are likely to be limited throughout Thursday with the US market closed to honor former President Jimmy Carter, ahead of a state funeral later in the session.
China inflation muted in December
Chinese inflation, as measured by the , remained unchanged in December, while the shrank for a 27th consecutive month, data showed on Thursday.
The reading pointed to limited improvement in China’s prolonged disinflationary trend, even as the government doled out its most aggressive round of stimulus measures yet through late-2024.
China is the world’s biggest oil importer, and has been a key source of anxiety for crude markets. Traders fear that weak economic growth in the country will eat into oil demand.
The country is also facing potential economic headwinds from the incoming Donald Trump administration in the US, as Trump has vowed to impose steep trade tariffs on Beijing.
US oil product inventories rise sharply
U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories grew substantially more than expected in the week to January 3, government data showed on Wednesday.
inventories grew 6.3 million barrels against expectations of 0.5 mb, while grew 6.1 mb on expectations of 0.5 mb.
Overall crude also shrank less than expected, at 0.96 mb, against expectations of 1.8 mb.
The build in product inventories marked an eighth straight week of outsized product builds, and spurred concerns that demand in the world’s biggest fuel consumer was cooling.
While cold weather in the country spurred some demand for heating, it also disrupted holiday travel in several areas.
EIA data also showed that US imports from Canada rose last week to the highest on record, ahead of incoming U.S. president Donald Trump’s plans to levy a 25% tariff on Canadian imports.
Canada has been the top source of U.S. oil imports for many years, and supplied more than half of the total U.S. crude imports in 2023.
Strength in the also weighed on crude prices, as the greenback shot back up to more than two-year highs on hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve.
A strong dollar pressures oil demand by making crude more expensive for international buyers.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
Investing.com – President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to implement sweeping import tariffs during his second term in the White House is potentially the “most bearish” policy development for the energy sector this year, according to analysts at RBC Capital Markets.
Trump, who is set to come to power in less than two weeks, has vowed to impose tariffs of as much as 10% on global imports into the US and 60% on items coming from China. He has also pledged to slap a 25% surcharge on products from Canada and Mexico.
Economists have flagged that the proposal would not only rattle global trade activity, but also threaten to reignite inflationary pressures and spark possible retaliation.
The uncertainty in markets was heightened on Wednesday after CNN reported that Trump is mulling declaring a national economic emergency in order to provide the legal underpinning for the tariffs. Earlier this week, Trump also denied a separate report that his team was mulling scaling back the levies to cover only critical goods.
In a note to clients on Thursday, analysts at RBC led by Helima Croft said that while the ultimate scope of the tariffs remains unclear, the headline duties on China could soften demand in the country and place downward pressure on oil prices. China is the world’s largest crude importer.
Business leaders with significant ties to China may advise Trump to stay away from instituting strict tariffs on the country, Croft predicted.
“We have also heard a view in Washington that President Trump could be amenable to a deal with China if Beijing offered to make large headline purchases of US goods, such as aircraft or even US [liquefied natural gas] imports,” Croft wrote.
“Beijing could also potentially seek to trade a reduction in Iranian crude imports for a tariff reprieve.”
However, Croft flagged that the overall market effect of the tariffs is still “challenging to forecast” because the Trump administration — unlike a prior round of trade tensions in 2018 — will have to weight the impact of the policies with broader macroeconomic worries “still front of mind for many in Washington”.
(Reuters contributed reporting.)
Investing.com– Gold prices edged higher Thursday, continuing the recent gains, as heightened uncertainty over a hawkish Federal Reserve and President-elect Donald Trump’s plan for trade tariffs fueled some safe haven demand.
At 06:15 ET (11:15 GMT), {68|Spot gold}} rose 0.4% to $2,683.84 an ounce, while expiring in February rose 0.3% to $2,668.60 an ounce.
Trading activity is likely to be limited Thursday, with US traders on holiday to honor former President Jimmy Carter, with a state funeral due later in the session.
Safe haven demand on economic uncertainty
Bullion prices benefited from some safe haven demand this week, as uncertainty over Trump’s trade and immigration policies dented risk appetite.
A CNN report said Trump could declare a national economic emergency to legally justify his plans to impose universal trade tariffs.
Concerns over Trump’s policies also came into focus after the of the Fed’s December meeting showed policymakers expressing some concerns over sticky inflation.
Specifically, Fed officials were growing concerned that Trump’s expansionary and protectionist policies could underpin inflation in the long term.
The minutes also largely reiterated the Fed’s plans to cut interest rates at a slower pace in 2025, after the central bank effectively halved its projected rate cuts to two from four in 2025.
Treasury yields shot up after the Fed’s minutes, as did the dollar.
Higher for longer rates bode poorly for non-yielding assets such as metals, given that they increase the opportunity cost of investing in the sector.
Other precious metals were edged higher Thursday. fell 0.1% to $983.85 an ounce, while rose 0.8% to $30.930 an ounce.
Copper rises as weak China inflation fuels stimulus hopes
Benchmark on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.7% to $9,093.0 a ton, while March rose 1.2% to $4.3115 a pound.
Chinese were flat in December, while shrank for a 27th consecutive month, indicating little improvement in disinflation.
Inflation remained weak even as Beijing doled out its most aggressive round of stimulus measures through late-2024.
But Thursday’s inflation data fueled increased bets that Beijing will do more to shore up Chinese growth, especially on the fiscal front.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
Among industrial metals, copper prices firmed as weak inflation data from top importer China spurred bets on more stimulus measures from Beijing.
But metal markets remained under pressure from strength in the dollar, which came back in sight of over two-year highs on hawkish signals from the Fed.
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