Commodities: Brent climbs to July 2015 highs on hopes for OPEC output curbs
Brent crude oil futures for next month delivery, the global benchmark, breached the psychological $60 a barrel mark following reports that Russia and Saudi Arabia backed a re-edition of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries's voluntary output curbs beyond their expected end date, in March 2018.
Against that backdrop, Brent futures added 1.9% to close a $60.44 a barrel on the ICE, while West Texas Intermediate tacked on 2.39% to close at $53.90.
That was the highest quote for Brent since July 2015.
Helping things along, the latest weekly oil rig count data from Baker Hughes, published on Friday, revealed that firms in the US added just one rig during the week just ended, to reach 737.
Nonetheless, according to some observers the main catalyst behind gains for crude was news that the Kurds and Iraqis had yet to sign a cease-fire agreement, amid still lower-than-normal oil flows from the region to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.
Gains for oil and gold came despite another advance in the US dollar spot index to a three-month high. Gold futures for December delivery on COMEX rose 0.17% to $1,271.80/oz..
Base metals saw a mixed session, yet by the LME close three-month copper had fallen from $6,993 a metric tonne to $6,830, while nickel had retreated to $11,580 from $11,755.
"LME metals gave up the gains made yesterday, led by nickel and beaten into retreat by a much firmer USD and in some sympathy with losses seen overnight in Chinese ferrous complex.
"Progress seen in US tax reform bill and continued Euro weakness following the ECB QE announcements yesterday took USD/Euro to 1.1580 area. Copper never regained 7000 eventually falling to 6780 area and ali found support at 2130," commented analysts at Sucden Financial.
Indeed, the spot dollar index rose 0.30% which took it past technical resistance, and to roughly three-month highs, to 94.92.
Meanwhile, the Bloomberg Commodity index slipped 0.06% to 85.87.
Agricultural futures on the other hand were mostly weaker, with the December CBoT wheat contract off by 1.04% to $4.2725 a bushel.