EUROPEAN COMMODITIES UPDATE: New Russian sanctions push crude benchmarks higher, XAU continues to consolidate

Crude Oil: WTI +4.9%, Brent +4.5%

• 
  Crude benchmarks continued higher during the APAC session as the US placed new sanctions on Russian oil companies. After an initial c. USD 1.30/bbl move late on Wednesday, WTI and Brent trended higher during APAC trade from USD 59.72/bbl and USD 63.86/bbl respectively to peak at USD 60.90/bbl and USD 65.04/bbl. Currently, benchmarks are continuing to trade higher to new session highs at USD 61.46/bbl and USD 65.67/bbl respectively.


• To recap, late in Wednesday’s session, the US placed sanctions on Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil because of “Russia’s lack of serious commitment to a peace process”. This is a shift away from recent comments that US President Trump didn’t want to put sanctions on Russia after the “good” phone call with Putin.


• In addition to the US sanctions, the EU has reached an agreement on its 19th package of sanctions against Russia. This includes an import ban of Russian LNG and targeting of Chinese companies.

Precious Metals: XAU +0.3%, XAG +1.5%

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  Spot XAU is currently oscillating in a tight USD 4066-4137/oz band as the metal consolidates following Tuesday’s selloff from record highs.


• Following the selloff, hopes of the yellow metal reaching USD 5k/t has dropped following the recent selloff, with options implied volatility signaling a 4% chance of reaching USD 5k/t.

Base Metals: 3M LME Copper +1.4%

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  Base metals traded rangebound during the APAC session but broke out of recent ranges following Antofagasta copper production and confirmation of a China-US meeting in Malaysia. 3M LME Copper oscillated in a tight c. USD 50/t range during APAC trade before trending higher and is currently making fresh session highs at USD 10.82k/t.


• Antofagasta reported increased Q3 copper production of 162k tons, which is +1.1% Q/Q, with its two largest mines remaining strong.

23 Oct 2025 - 10:15- MetalsGeopolitical- Source: Newsquawk