WTI crude prices rose on Friday but posted a second consecutive weekly decline amid oversupply concerns. Meanwhile, copper prices approached historic highs as U.S. tech stocks rebounded, while gold hovered near record levels and silver hit a fresh all-time high.

Crude Oil: WTI Marks Second Weekly Drop as Supply Glut Fears Dominate Oil prices fell for a second straight week as mounting oversupply worries overshadowed geopolitical supply risks. WTI gained 0.9% on Friday to settle above $56/barrel, yet the U.S. benchmark still lost over 1% for the week, briefly touching a near five-year low. Prices found some support after Ukraine escalated attacks on Russian-affiliated tankers in the Mediterranean.

Despite these risks, nearly all major global traders anticipate a supply surplus in early 2025, with Trafigura forecasting Brent crude to remain in the $50 range until mid-2026 before recovering. Markets positioned for this outlook, with short-only bets hitting record highs while long positions shrank.

Thin holiday trading ahead of Christmas and New Year's may amplify volatility. Friday's price rise was partly driven by short-covering in extremely bearish positioning. - WTI February futures rose 0.9% to $56.52/barrel - January futures expired Friday - Brent February futures gained 1.1% to $60.47/barrel

Precious Metals: Silver Hits Record as Gold Nears Historic High Gold held near record levels while silver surged to new peaks after softer U.S. inflation data reinforced bets on further rate cuts. Geopolitical tensions, including Venezuela's unrest, bolstered safe-haven demand.

Both metals are having their best year since 1979, with silver doubling and gold up nearly two-thirds year-to-date. - Spot gold rose 0.3% to $4,344.38/oz - Spot silver jumped 2.7% to $67.2265/oz

Base Metals: Copper Approaches All-Time High Copper neared record levels as rebounding U.S. tech stocks improved sentiment amid tightening supplies across multiple metals. Prices rose 1.3% to $11,928/ton, just $25 below the $12,000 historic peak.

Supported by mine disruptions, surging U.S. imports and AI-related demand, copper has gained over one-third this year. Tech-critical tin also hit a three-year high, up nearly 50% YTD as AI stocks rallied.

Aluminum reached its highest since 2022 on supply concerns after Mozambique smelter closures, while nickel extended its rebound from eight-month lows on potential Indonesian supply cuts.

LME Closing Prices: - Copper: +0.9% at $11,881.5/ton - Aluminum: +1% at $2,945/ton - Nickel: +1.1% at $14,803/ton - Zinc: +0.3% at $3,072.5/ton - Tin: +0.7% at $43,227/ton - Lead: +1.1% at $1,984.5/ton