Oil prices deepend losses as the US market opened on Friday, to drop more than 1.5% on profit-taking from a 6-week high, in addition to growing uncertainty over the first phase of the trade deal between the US and China, after news reports about a stiff opposition for the tariffs removal in the White House, in addition to US oversupply concerns after a massive surge in inventories and production levels remaining at its all-time highest levels.
WTI shed more than 1.5% to $56.07 a barrel from the opening of $57.01, with a session-high of $57.09, and Brent dropped 1.9% to $61.11 a barrel, from the opening of $62.31, with a high of $62.38.
Yesterday, WTI gained 1.2% and posted a 6-week high of $57.84, and Brent futures rose by 0.9% and posted the highest since September 24 at $63.28.
China's Ministry of Commerce stated on Thursday that the US and China agreed over the last two weeks to eliminate the tariffs imposed by the two countries during the long-running trade war.
A US official confirmed the statements later, without disclosing a timetable for the removal phases, which may still be a hurdle between the two countries.
But the latest update regarding the matter on Friday is that the tariffs removal plan faces opposition in the White House and from outside advisers, according to Reuters quoted sources.
The sources added that the idea was not part of the October agreement between President Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
These updates renewed doubts once again about the completion of the first phase trade deal, especially as China urged for removing the tariffs in order for Chinese leader Xi Jinping to formally decide the first phase.
It's widely expected that in case of the US-China trade war end by a final deal, the global economic outlook will likely improve in addition to oil demand.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed on Wednesday that oil inventories rose by about 7.9 million barrels during the week ending in November 1, beating forecasts of 1.9 million barrels.
The total US commercial inventories rose to 447.2 million barrels, the highest level since the week ending in July 12, which indicates that domestic demand has weakened in the US, while the production levels remained unchanged from last week at its all-time record high of 12.6 million barrels per day.
Silver prices fell during the European session on Friday, to continue to nosedive for the second straight day to 3-month trough, and head for the largest weekly loss in 3 years, on the US dollar surge and the weak demand on safe havens.
Silver prices fell by 1.2% to $16.89 an ounce (the lowest since August 20th), from the opening of $17.09, with a session-high of $17.11.
The white metal shed 2.8% yesterday, its third loss in 4 days, as most dollar-dominated metals fell.
During this week, silver prices have lost 6.75% so far, on its way for first weekly loss in a month and the largest weekly loss since October 2016.
Otherwise, the US dollar rose by 0.2% on Friday, to extend its gains for the fifth straight day, and hit a 3-week high of 98.23 points, to reflect the US currency robust performance against a basket of currencies.
This broad rally by the US dollar is due to the trade war risks receding in addition to the continued positive data and the strong US services sector data during October, which indicates that the US Federal Reserve will unlikely cut the interest rates for the fourth during this year.
Silver also fell under pressure this week after demand on safe havens has weakened sharply due to the positive developments in the US-China trade talks and the near signing of the first phase trade deal, which was clear in the broad rally in most global stock markets, chief among these is Wall Street's jump to all-time highs.
Oil prices fell today in the European market, on profit-taking from a 6-week high, in addition to growing uncertainty over the first phase of the trade deal between the US and China, after news reports about a stiff opposition for the tariffs removal in the White House.
WTI fell to $56.49 a barrel from the opening of $57.01, with a session-high of $57.09, and Brent fell to $61.75 a barrel, from the opening of $62.31, with a high of $62.38.
Yesterday, WTI gained 1.2% and posted a 6-week high of $57.84, and Brent futures rose by 0.9% and posted the highest since September 24 at $63.28.
China's Ministry of Commerce stated on Thursday that the US and China agreed over the last two weeks to eliminate the tariffs imposed by the two countries during the long-running trade war.
A US official confirmed the statements later, without disclosing a timetable for the removal phases, which may still be a hurdle between the two countries.
But the latest update regarding the matter on Friday is that the tariffs removal plan faces opposition in the White House and from outside advisers, according to Reuters from informed sources.
The sources added that the idea was not part of the October agreement between President Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
These updates renewed doubts once again about the completion of the first phase trade deal, especially as China urged for removing the tariffs in order for Chinese leader Xi Jinping to formally decide the first phase.
It's widely expected that in case of the US-China trade war end by a final deal, the global economic outlook will likely improve in addition to oil demand.
Gold rose slightly in the European session on Friday, in attempts to rebound from the 5-week low it hit yesterday, but still on way for its first weekly loss in a month on weak safe-haven demand and robust dollar performance against a basket of currencies.
Gold fell by 0.3% to $1,472.79 an ounce, after opening at $1,467.94, with a session-low of $1,465.72.
The yellow metal closed lower by 1.5% yesterday, to mark its third daily loss in 4 days, after it hit a 5-week low of $1,460.57 after the US dollar surged.
During this week, gold prices have lost 2.7% so far, on way for its first weekly loss in a month and the largest weekly loss since April 2017.
Otherwise, the US dollar rose by 0.1% on Friday, to extend its gains for the fifth straight day, and head to a 3-week high of 98.23 points, to reflect the US currency robust performance against a basket of currencies.
This broad rally by the US dollar is due to the recent developments about the US-China trade deal, and the strong US services sector data during October.
With the trade war risks receding and the continued positive data, it's unlikely that the US Federal Reserve will cut the interest rates for the fourth during this year.
Demand on safe havens has weakened sharply this week due to the positive developments in the US-China trade talks and the near signing of the first phase trade deal.
These developments improved the risk appetite as investors shifted to higher-yielding assets, with the US stocks jumping to fresh all-time highs, and the European hitting 4-year highs.
Gold holdings at the SPDR Gold Trust, fell on Friday by 1.47 metric tonnes, with a total of 914.38 Mt (the lowest since September 23rd).