DBT Bureau
Pune, 18 Dec 2025
Geojit Investments, in its latest commodities report, said global commodity markets traded mixed, with precious metals easing slightly ahead of key U.S. inflation data, while energy prices remained steady amid ongoing supply-side concerns.
- Precious metals eased ahead of key U.S. inflation data due for later today. Spot gold hovered just below its all-time high, while silver spot traded near all time high of USD66.88 per troy ounce hit yesterday.
- U.S. non-farm payrolls added 64,000 jobs in November, reversing October’s decline of 105,000. Employment gains were led by health care and construction, while federal government payrolls continued to shrink. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate jumped to 4.6% in November.
- U.S. Fed lowered interest rates by 25 basis points to a target range of 3.50%–3.75% in this month’s policy meeting, while signaling a likely pause in further cuts as officials await clearer indications on labor market trends and inflation, which remains somewhat elevated.
- Copper production from Chilean state-run miner Codelco fell 14.3% in October, falling to 111,000 metric tonnes. Meanwhile production at BHP’s Escondida mine, the world’s largest copper mine, climbed 11.7% from the same month a year earlier to 120,600 tonnes. At Collahuasi, another major copper mine jointly run by Glencore and Anglo American, output fell 29.3% to 35,000 tonnes.
- Crude prices steadied as investors weighed the possibility of further U.S. sanctions against Russia and the supply risks posed by a blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers.
- OPEC+ decided to keep oil output unchanged for the first quarter of 2026, signaling a slowdown in its efforts to reclaim market share amid concerns over a potential supply glut.
- NYMEX natural gas futures climbed on near-record gas flows to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants and forecasts for more demand next week than previously expected.
- China’s manufacturing PMI signaled contraction in November, reflecting sluggish demand and indicating that progress in U.S. trade talks has yet to translate into a meaningful demand recovery.
