Oil rose to about $45 a barrel as Saudi Arabia’s offer to cut output opened the door to a future OPEC deal, though the kingdom doesn’t expect an agreement when members of the group meet this week. Futures rose as much as 2.3 per cent in New York after slumping 4 per cent on Friday.
While Saudi Arabia and Iran didn’t reach an agreement after two days of preparatory talks in Vienna, the Saudis did offer to pump less crude if Iran caps output, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.
West Texas Intermediate for November delivery rose 84 cents, or 1.9 per cent, to $45.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost $1.84 on Friday, the biggest decline since July 13. Total volume traded Monday was near the 100-day average. Prices have averaged about $44.80 this quarter. Brent for November settlement climbed 88 cents, or 1.9 per cent, to $46.77 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark traded at a $1.45 premium to WTI.
Gold steadied as last week’s rally ran out of steam, with markets awaiting a US presidential debate later in the day for pointers on the outcome of November’s election.
Spot gold was at $1,336.95 an ounce , little changed from $1,337.21 late on Friday. US gold futures for December delivery were down 10 cents at $1,340.70.
Weakness in risk appetite weighed on the more industrial precious metals, with platinum down 1.6 per cent at $1,033.50 and palladium dropping 1.4 per cent to $690.50. Silver fell 1.4 per cent to $19.41 an ounce.
Nickel led metal prices lower on Monday, easing after hitting six-week highs on Friday on the possibility of further mine closures in the Philippines.
A dozen more Philippine mines, mostly nickel projects, are in danger of being suspended when the government announces results on Tuesday of a mining audit initiated as part of an environmental crackdown.
Nickel was untraded in official rings on the London Metals Exchange but was bid down 1.7 per cent at $10,480 a tonne.
The steel making ingredient had scaled a six-week high of $10,715 on Friday and registered its biggest weekly rise since July. The Philippines has already halted operations at 10 mines, eight of which are nickel producers, since the audit began in July. The South-East Asian nation accounts for more than 90 per cent of China’s nickel ore imports and any sign of supply interruptions triggers price increases.
Among other metals, benchmark copper was bid down 0.8 per cent at $4,817 a tonne. Aluminium was down 0.2 per cent in rings at $1,632, while tin bucked the trend to trade 0.3 per cent higher at $19,700.
Zinc was off 0.8 per cent to $2,257 and lead ceded 0.2 per cent to $1,915 a tonne.
Bullion prices (in ₹)
Mumbai: Silver 46,300/kg; gold std 31,300/10 gm; gold .999 31,450/10 gm.(Rates include VAT)
Chennai: Bar silver 46,685/kg; standard gold 31,880/10 gm; retail silver 50/gm; 22 carat retail ornament gold 2,981/gm. (Rates from PTI)