EUROPEAN COMMODITIES UPDATE: Upside in crude, precious metals, and copper, despite a firmer Dollar

WTI/Brent: +1.2%/+0.9%

• Firmer trade in the crude complex despite the stronger Dollar, and extended on the prior day's gains with upside seen after the latest private sector inventory data showed a larger-than-expected draw in headline crude and with Cushing stockpiles also at a draw, while gasoline and distillate both showed greater-than-expected builds.
• Private inventory data (bbls): Crude -4.0mln (exp. -0.2mln), Distillate +3.2mln (exp. +0.6mln), Gasoline +7.3mln (exp. +1.5mln), Cushing -3.1mln.
• The complex saw additional upside in the European morning after reports that Ukraine had hit a Russian oil depot which served a military airfield, according to Ukraine's Presidential Advisor.
• Elsewhere, Shell (SHEL LN) Cuts Q4 Integrated Gas Production 880-820k boepd (prev. guided 900-960k boepd), LNG Volumes 6.8-7.2Mt (prev. guided 6.9-7.5Mt); optimisation results are exp. to be significantly lower than Q3'24.
• WTI Feb resides in a 74.51-75.29/bbl range while Brent Mar sits in a 77.23-77.89/bbl parameter.

Nat Gas Dutch TTF -0.2%, US nat gas +2.9%

• Firmer trade in US natural gas amid the cold weather in the region.
• European prices meanwhile keep an eye on winter storage levels.
• ING says "EU storage is 69% full at the moment, down from 85% at the same stage last year and below the five-year average of 75%", "A faster-than-expected fall in inventory will leave the market nervous, particularly with the colder weather Europe is facing at the moment."

Gold: +0.2%

• Mixed trade across precious metals with spot gold and silver firmer whilst palladium trades flat/subdued.
• Gold holds gains despite the firmer dollar and despite reports that India has cut November gold imports by USD 5bln in the biggest revision, via Reuters citing sources; revised to USD 9.84bln (prev. estimated 14.86bln).
• Spot gold trades in a current USD 2,645.40-2,654.90/oz range.

Copper: +0.7%

• On a firmer footing despite the stronger Dollar after the red metal lacked firm direction amid the mixed risk appetite in Asia and the subdued mood in China.
• Copper underpinned by the modestly positive mood in Europe.
• 3M LME copper currently resides in a USD 8,983.00-9,056.00/t range.