Like all other financial markets, commodities trading in coming days will be dominated by the Brexit vote in Britain Thursday night, our time.
But before then Australian investors will have to negotiate the second last week of the tiresome Federal election campaign.
And some traders will be keeping a wary eye on oil prices – US crude futures jumped 4% on Friday in the wake of an easing in Brexit fears, but the market ignored the third successive weekly rise in US oil rig use.
If the rig increase continues for much longer, some analysts say US prices could slide very quickly.
Others warn that if there is a halt to the fall in US production and/or a build up in stocks (thus reversing the recent trend of falling production and stocks) oil prices could quite easily test the $US40 a barrel level.
Baker Hughes said the US oil rig count rose by 9 to 337 last week, for a third-straight weekly rise, the longest streak since last August. One gas rig was added, taking that category’s total to 86 and the combined figure rose 10 to 424.
In New York, July West Texas Intermediate crude futures added $US1.77, or 3.8%, to settle at $US47.98 a barrel, down 2.2% lower for the week, which was the biggest loss since the week ended May 6.
In London, August Brent crude climbed $US1.98, or 4.2%, to end at $US49.17, for a weekly loss of around 2.7%. That was also the biggest weekly decline in six weeks.
Comex gold futures finished narrowly lower on Friday in New York, ending a 7-session streak of gains, as those Brexit fears eased in the wake of the Jo Cox killing.
Comex gold for August delivery lost $US3.60, or 0.3%, to settle at $US1,294.80 an ounce. Prices rose about 1.5% last week for the third straight weekly advance.
Comex July silver futures shed 19.6 cents, or 1.1%, to $US17.411 an ounce on Friday, cutting the weekly gain to 0.5%.
And Comex July copper rose by less than half a cent to $US2.051 a pound—up about 1% on the week.
