Crude oil prices continue to rise.

Báo Công thương•03/01/2025

At the close of yesterday's trading session, both crude oil commodities posted their fourth consecutive day of gains. WTI crude rose 1.97% to $73.13 per barrel, and Brent crude increased 1.73% to $75.93 per barrel.

According to the Vietnam Commodity Exchange (MXV), after the Lunar New Year holiday, the global raw materials market closed in positive territory. Notably, all five energy commodities saw price increases, with crude oil leading the overall market trend with four consecutive days of gains. Meanwhile, the metals market showed mixed performance, with precious metals such as silver and platinum experiencing strong price increases. At the close of trading, the MXV-Index rose 0.62% to 2,225 points.

Thị trường hàng hóa 3/1: Dầu thô tăng liên tiếp

MXV-Index

Energy is driving the market's upward momentum.

Strong buying pressure prevailed in the energy market yesterday. All five commodities rose in price. Crude oil, in particular, saw its fourth consecutive day of gains. This was driven by continued declines in US oil inventories and expectations of increased demand from China.

Energy price list

At the close of yesterday's trading session, WTI crude oil prices rose 1.97% to $73.13 per barrel and Brent crude oil prices increased 1.73% to $75.93 per barrel. Meanwhile, natural gas prices fluctuated and closed with a slight increase.

According to the weekly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. crude oil inventories for the week ending December 27 totaled 415.6 million barrels, down 1.18 million barrels from the previous week. This decrease was smaller than the 1.44 million barrel drop predicted by the American Petroleum Institute and the 2.4 million barrel drop expected by analysts. However, this marks the sixth consecutive week of decline in U.S. crude oil inventories, reflecting sustained high demand and providing positive support for prices.

In addition, Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his New Year's address, stated that the country's GDP growth in 2025 is expected to reach 5%. He also emphasized that China will implement more proactive policies to boost the economy in 2025, while already taking timely measures to ensure high-quality development. Following this news, investors are cautiously observing and assessing the recovery of the Chinese economy and fuel demand after China's commitment to boosting economic growth.

Furthermore, the US labor market also showed positive signs, with initial jobless claims totaling 211,000, down 9,000 from the previous week and lower than analysts' expectations of 221,000, marking the lowest level in eight months. This is a positive sign for the US economy because, over the past three years, the labor market has been a driving force behind consumer spending, and strong consumption has sustained economic growth.

The metals market showed mixed performance after the New Year's holiday.

According to MXV, returning after the New Year's holiday, metal commodities showed clear divergence, with the price chart divided into two halves: green and red. Specifically, in the precious metals group, the prices of silver and platinum rose impressively to $29.9/ounce and $922.4/ounce, respectively.

Metal price list

The precious metals market is experiencing strong buying interest. Furthermore, the easing of monetary policy in the US, coupled with persistent geopolitical tensions in various regions, including yesterday's Russian drone attacks on Kyiv, has fueled short-term demand for safe-haven assets.

For base metals, COMEX copper prices remained almost unchanged from the benchmark after a relatively volatile trading session. Conversely, iron ore prices rose by about 0.4% to nearly $101 per ton as the market reacted positively to economic data from China, the world's leading consumer.

Specifically, according to the results of the private Caixin survey, China's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) reached 50.5 points in December, marking the third consecutive month that this index in the territory has expanded. Previously, official data from the National Bureau of Statistics also showed similarly optimistic results, with the PMI reaching 50.1 points.

In addition, iron ore buying activity was also stimulated after experts issued optimistic forecasts about consumption prospects. Exporters and analysts said that China's iron ore imports, which account for about 70% of global iron ore imports, could reach new highs in 2025 as traders stockpile cheap ore, despite the prolonged real estate crisis continuing to weigh on steel demand in the country.

According to a Reuters survey, China's imports of key steelmaking raw materials could rise from 10 million to 40 million tons to 1.27 billion tons this year, exceeding previous forecasts. Earlier data showed that the country imported 1.12 billion tons of iron ore in the first 11 months of 2024, a 4.3% increase year-on-year.

Prices of some other goods