Oil Resumes Drop as Asian Equities Rebound

Oil resumed declines after jumping from a five-year low and metals retreated amid the highest commodity-price volatility in two years. Asian stocks rebounded and South Korea’s won led emerging-market currencies higher.

West Texas Intermediate crude retreated 0.5 percent by 1:04 p.m. in Tokyo, after yesterday’s 4.3 percent surge from its lowest settlement since September 2009. Gold, which rallied 3.8 percent yesterday, slid 0.5 percent. BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), the world’s largest mining company, climbed 3.8 percent and was the biggest support to the MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) today. The won strengthened 0.6 percent and Malaysia’s ringgit added 0.3 percent after capping its steepest two-day retreat since the Asian financial crisis.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM), which rebounded off a five-year low yesterday, is swinging the most since October 2012, according to a 60-day measure of historic volatility. Prices for materials and energy plunged, fueling deflation concerns, on concern that supply is outstripping demand as estimates for global growth are downgraded. Australia held rates steady, with India are projected to do the same before the euro region reviews monetary policy later this week.

Bloomberg

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.