EUROPEAN COMMODITIES UPDATE: Crude pulls back whilst gold meanders and LME copper plays catch-up

Analysis details (10:59)

WTI Oct and Brent Nov futures have been giving up some of yesterday’s gains following an APAC session of consolidation near highs, with the latest downside coinciding with reports that Iraqi oil exports are unaffected by the recent domestic unrest. To recap, there were reports that protests in Iraq have shut down roads leading to oil fields – Iraq produced 4.5mln BPD in July whilst exporting 3.36mln BPD that month. There were also reports citing the Iraq State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) that exports can be increased if Europe asks. Elsewhere, there is no notable update on the Iranian nuclear front, whilst next week sees the OPEC+ confab on Sep 5th alongside the emergency EU energy meeting on Sep 9th. WTI has declined from its USD 97.66/bbl intraday high to a current trough close to USD 95/bbl, whilst Brent fell from USD 103.48/bbl, however only paring back half of yesterday’s rise. European natural gas has been in focus today ahead as Gazprom is expected to halt European gas supply via Nord Stream 1 amid the previously announced three-day maintenance, although jitters remain on whether supply will return alongside and at what volume. Dutch TTF futures fell over 10% at one point, with a possible headwind continuing from German gas storage filling up faster than expected. Elsewhere, spot gold is modestly softer intraday and remains under its 21, 50, and 10 DMAs at USD 1,765.60/oz, USD 1,761.36/oz and USD 1,746.74/oz respectively. LME copper has fallen back under USD 8,000/t, -3.2% at the time of writing as the exchange plays catch-up following the UK bank holiday.

30 Aug 2022 - 10:59- MetalsResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk