Gold prices rose to a two-week high amid low-volume holiday trading on Thursday

PRECIOUS METALS

Gold prices rose to a two-week high amid low-volume holiday trading on Thursday, as the U.S. dollar and global stock markets pulled back. Gold was up $5.25, or 0.46%, to $1,146.15 at 08:26ET. The U.S. dollar fell from its 14-year-high against a basket of currencies as investors took profits in the run-up to the end of the year. Meanwhile, global stock markets slumped in wake of a downbeat performance on Wall Street overnight.Market analysts warned that the outlook for gold remains cloudy in the near-term, given expectations for higher U.S. interest rates in the months ahead.

BASE METALS

Chile’s government announced December 29 the country’s copper production slid 1.3% year-on-year to 479,959 tonnes in November, wenhua.com reported. The output decline is due mainly to lower ore grade and maintenance at one mine. Commissioning of some mines added to output, though. Chile is global largest copper producing country which claims about 1/3 of global total copper output. Today is the last trading day of 2016. Italy’s annualized November PPI and Chicago’s December PMI will be released today. Base metals will fall further today but any declines will be limited. Italy’s annualized November PPI is expected to rise in light of this year’s PPI in the country. But Italy’s economic condition is still sluggish. Enterprise and consumer confidence was mixed in December, while confidence of the construction sector and service suppliers weakened significantly.

ENERGIES

Oil prices are on track for their biggest annual percentage gain since 2009 on the back of an agreement struck between OPEC and non-OPEC countries to cut crude production output. In a sign that producers are adhering to an agreed production cut, Oman notified some of its term customers that it will cut term allocations by 5 percent in March, but did not state if the reduction in supply would continue after that. The market also shrugged off an unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories, which rose 614,000 barrels in the week to Dec. 23, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed. Analysts had expected a decrease of 2.1 million barrels in the period.

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