Middle East continues to 'heat up', world oil prices recover

World oil prices recovered by more than 1% amid continued tensions in the Middle East and recent moves by China toward easing monetary policy.

According to the Vietnam Commodity Exchange (MXV), green dominated the global commodity price chart yesterday (December 9th). At closing, the MXV-Index rose 1.1% to 2,212 points. Notably, the energy sector led the market's upward trend, with all five commodities simultaneously increasing in price amidst escalating geopolitical tensions and China's recent move to ease monetary policy. In addition, buying pressure prevailed in the metals market.

Thị trường hàng hóa hôm nay 10/12: Trung Đông tiếp tục ‘nóng’, giá dầu thế giới quay đầu phục hồi

MXV-Index

Oil prices rebound.

At the close of trading yesterday, world oil prices recovered by more than 1% amid continued tensions in the Middle East and recent moves by China toward easing monetary policy.

At the close of trading, WTI crude oil prices rose 1.74% to over $68 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices also increased 1.43% to $72 per barrel.

Energy price list

In the Middle East, Syrian rebels seized the capital Damascus on December 8, marking the end of the Iranian and Russian-backed regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Although not a major oil producer, Syria occupies a strategically important position, meaning instability there significantly impacts the regional balance of power and affects the stability of oil flows in the Middle East. Ship tracking data shows early signs of disruption in the oil market, with an Iranian oil tanker bound for Syria turning back in the Red Sea.

On the demand side, China's Xinhua news agency, citing a summary of a meeting of top officials, reported that the country will implement a "reasonably easing" monetary policy for the first time in 14 years in 2025. This information has raised market expectations for improved oil demand. A senior analyst at Price Futures Group suggested that China's economic stimulus measures could also support a surge in commodity prices in the near future.

In addition, a Reuters survey shows that credit demand in China is gradually improving. New loans in November are estimated to have doubled compared to October, reaching 990 billion yuan (equivalent to $136 billion). This indicates that the previous $1.4 trillion economic stimulus package has begun to take effect.

Copper prices hit a one-month high.

According to MXV, the metals market started the new week with overwhelming gains. For precious metals, silver prices surged more than 3% to over $32 per ounce, its highest level in over a month. Platinum prices also recovered after three consecutive days of declines, closing at $954 per ounce, up 2.16%.

Metal price list

Precious metal prices continued to benefit amid signs of escalating geopolitical conflict in the Middle East. Acting as a hedge against risk, silver and platinum saw strong buying interest yesterday.

In addition, the improvement in market sentiment after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) resumed gold purchases after a six-month hiatus also contributed to supporting the price of the precious metal. Last year, China was the world's largest official gold buyer.

For base metals, COMEX copper prices rose nearly 2% to $9,425 per ton, the highest level in about a month. During the morning session, copper prices fluctuated relatively sideways after China released negative economic data. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS), in October, the country's consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2% year-on-year, marking the slowest increase in five months. Notably, compared to the previous month, the CPI fell 0.6%, a sharper decline of 0.2 percentage points than forecast and the largest drop since March this year.

However, in the early afternoon session, copper prices reversed course and surged again, completely erasing earlier losses, thanks to signals from China that it would continue to support economic growth.

Prices of some other goods