EUROPEAN COMMODITIES UPDATE: Industrial commodities bolstered by Chinese commentary

Crude Oil: WTI Feb +2%/Brent Mar -+2%

• Overall, an upbeat Friday thus far for the crude oil complex on the back of some jawboning from China in early hours coupled with geopolitical updates.
• China's Vice Finance Minister expects more proactive fiscal policy in 2025, in terms of its strength, efficiency, and timing, and added that fiscal policy has abundant policy room and tools.
• Further upticks were seen coinciding with reports that Israeli Defence Minister Katz said he has ordered the IDF to present him with a plan "for the complete defeat of Hamas in Gaza," if there is no hostage deal by the time incoming US president Trump takes office (Jan 20th), according to ToI journalist.
• WTI Feb resides towards the top of a USD 74.02-75.62/bbl range while Brent Mar sits in a 77.03-78.65/bbl.
• Ahead, the main scheduled event will be the US jobs report although Fed policymakers do not appear to be concerned about the labour market - noting that it is strong, has been cooling gradually, and with downside risks diminishing. Crucially, policymakers do not think that the labour market is a source of inflation pressures (Full Newsquawk NFP Preview available).

Nat Gas: Dutch TTF -2.6%, US Nat Gas +2.2%

• European nat gas continues declining after settling under EUR 45/MWh yesterday, with desks citing milder weather forecasts in North West Europe, whilst US continues to feel cold weather.
• "In addition, the spread between European and Asian LNG prices means that Europe should be a more attractive market for LNG. EU storage is now 68% full, down from 83% at the same time last year and below the five-year average of 74%." says ING.

Precious Metals: Gold +0.4%, Silver +0.7%, Palladium +1.9%

• Firm trade across precious metals but to varying degrees. Palladium outperforms alongside a strong performance in the Auto stocks, whilst gold and silver are underpinned by the softer Dollar and recent geopolitical updates.
• Spot gold currently trades in a USD 2,668.57-2,682.48/oz range after topping yesterday's high (USD 2,678.40/oz), with the next level to the upside the 13th Dec peak (USD 2,692.86/oz).

Base Metals: 3M LME Copper +0.5%

• The base metal complex hold an upward bias amid broader strength in industrial commodities following commentary from China ahead of next week's GDP release.
• China's Vice Finance Minister expects more proactive fiscal policy in 2025, in terms of its strength, efficiency, and timing, and added that fiscal policy has abundant policy room and tools - in turn bolstering demand prospects.
• 3M LME copper found resistance at USD 9,150.00/t to trade in a current USD 9,098.50-9,150.00/t parameter.