Oil prices ticked higher on Wednesday, although Brent languished near seven-month lows on demand concerns in top buyers, while copper futures (HG1:COM) fell nearly 2%.
Supply fears kept oil prices in the green, even as Chinese trade data showed that July daily crude oil imports fell to the lowest level since September 2022.
China’s crude oil imports continued to contract by 3% y/y as unattractive refining margins kept the utilisation rate lower. “Despite the fact that demand losses due to COVID-19 have yet to recover fully, oil imports have been disappointing this year. That said, lower oil prices and a likely recovery in operating rates could boost crude oil imports in the later months of Q3,” ANZ Research said in a note.
WTI crude closed Monday at its lowest settlement since early February, and Brent ended at its weakest close since early January, but stocks scored a strong rebound Tuesday, offering some respite for riskier assets.
Meanwhile, in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA forecast global crude consumption will total 104.5M bbl/day in 2025, down 200K bbl/day from its previous forecast, which lowers its projected demand growth rate for next year to 1.6%.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration is due to release weekly inventory data at 10:30 a.m. (1430 GMT) on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, LME copper stockpiles surged by 42,175 tons, the most since 2020, as per Bloomberg data.
Adding to the negative sentiment, growing concerns about a hard landing for the U.S. economy are keeping investors on the edge.
The main headwind for base metals over recent months has been China, where subdued manufacturing and a grim housing market have hammered confidence. However, data on Wednesday showed, China’s total copper imports rose 4% y/y, implying strong underlying demand, ANZ analysts noted. China’s refined copper imports fell by 3%y/y in July, offset by a 9.6% y/y increase in concentrate imports.
Potentially relevant stock tickers include (FCX), (SCCO), (TECK), (HBM), (CMP), (BHP), (RIO), (VALE)
The precious metals complex held firm amid expectations of an interest rate reduction by the U.S. Federal Reserve and geopolitical tension. Looking ahead, ING analysts expect gold to regain its footing once again, amid the ongoing geopolitical uncertainties. Bullion, usually a safe haven during such uncertainty, fell 1.7% on Monday amid likely liquidation to cover margin calls on other assets.
Recent Commodity Price Movements and A look At Some ETFs
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Energy
Metals
Agriculture
Commodity ETFs
Gold ETFs:
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