Commodities Are Strong Early on January 24
At 4:00 AM EST on January 24, the West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for March 2018 delivery were trading at $64.50 per barrel—a gain of 0.05%.
Jan. 24 2018, Published 8:11 a.m. ET
Crude oil
Crude oil pulled back last week and broke a four-week gaining streak. However, crude oil started this week on a stable note and moved higher as the week progressed. Following a strong performance on Tuesday, crude oil opened Wednesday on a stronger note and traded with strength above the opening price in the early hours.
Market sentiment
The market sentiment has improved this week amid comments made by major producers. They will support the market by limiting their output after 2018 if necessary. Prices got a boost on Tuesday following a report by the IMF (International Monetary Fund). The IMF expects economic growth to improve. It upgraded the global economic growth forecast. According to the American Petroleum Institute, crude oil inventory levels increased by 4.755 MMbbls (million barrels) last week. The market was expecting inventory levels to fall by 1.6 MMbbls. The market is looking forward to the release of US crude oil inventories by the U.S. Energy Information Administration at 10:30 AM EST today.
At 4:00 AM EST on January 24, the West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for March 2018 delivery were trading at $64.50 per barrel—a gain of 0.05%. The Brent crude oil futures for March 2018 delivery fell 0.33% to $69.73 per barrel. The SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) closed at $39.85 after gaining 0.4% on January 23.
Copper
After falling for three consecutive trading weeks, copper started this week on a stronger note. The improved optimism about global economic growth along with increased confidence in China’s economic stability supported copper prices. A weaker dollar in the early hours supported copper prices. The SPDR S&P Metals and Mining ETF (XME) fell 0.13% and closed at $38.84 on Tuesday.
Gold (GLD) and silver (SLW) are strong in the early hours on Wednesday. The decline in the US Dollar Index to fresh three-year low price levels boosted gold prices. Weakness in dollar prices supports the prices of dollar-denominated commodities like copper, gold, and silver. Platinum and palladium are also strong in the early hours on January 24.