Oil prices rose on Thursday amid mounting expectations that Opec will announce a substantial supply cut at the oil producers’ meeting next week while gold maintained a hold above the $800 level.
Agricultural commodities traded in a narrow range ahead of the latest supply and demand update from the US government.
Nymex January West Texas Intermediate rose $2 to $45.52 a barrel while ICE January Brent gained $2.40 at $44.80 a barrel.
Opec will need to make a substantial cut in its oil production as global oil demand is expected to contract in 2008 for the first time in 25 years, according to the International Energy Agency. In its latest monthly report, published on Thursday, the energy watchdog of the developed world said the cartel had only complied with about half of the output reductions that it had previously agreed.
Gold traded at $827 a troy ounce, moving between a high of $827.70 and a low of $803.60, after ending trading in New York on Wednesday at $807.75.
The poor run of economic data which has dragged the pound’s trade weighted exchange rate index to a record low has also helped gold prices reach record levels in sterling terms at around £552 a troy ounce.
In Chicago, agricultural commodities were mixed in electronic trading ahead of the latest supply and demand update from the US Department of Agriculture, due on Thursday.
The USDA is not thought likely to announce significant revisions to its projections for output and instead will focus on the extent of any deterioration in demand, which will show up in the stock figures for the end of year.
CBOT December corn dipped 0.75 cents at $3.237a bushel while CBOT December wheat eased 2½ cents at $4.90¾ a bushel but CBOT January soyabeans added 10 4 cents at $8.39½ a bushel.
Base metals were stronger with copper up 0.2 per cent at $3,275 a tonne while aluminium added 2.3 per cent at $1,555 a tonne.
Lead firmed 0.8 per cent at $1,020 a tonne while tin added 1.5 per cent at $12,175 a tonne.
Nickel extended its gains, rising 2.9 per cent at $10,700 a tonne after a sharp jump of 11.2 per cent on Wednesday, prompted by a short-covering rally later in the session.
However, zinc bucked the trend, slipping 3 per cent to 1,082 a tonne.
