X

Select the account you'd like to open

WTI crude oil breaks above $US110/bbl

aluminium rolls in factory

The S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.3% higher at 7116.70, as US futures gain. The Australian dollar is slightly weaker at US72.63c vs US72.71c earlier in the day against the US dollar. Spot WTI crude oil broke through $US110, trading around $US109.93 a barrel by the close of the ASX session. Brent sits at $US112.35 a barrel. Investors await fresh announcements from the OPEC+ meeting later today. Crude oil reached an all time high of $US147.27 in July of 2008, according to Trading Economics historical data. Gold is trading at $US1934.52 and Bitcoin is holding above $US44,000, currently around $US44,217.

Australia's fourth quarter GDP rose 3.4% Q/Q and 4.2% Y/Y, one basis point either side of Bloomberg's consensus estimates of 3.5% and 4.1%. The Australian Bureau of Statistics found Australian households are now spending more than before the pandemic hit, with a 6.3% Q/Q jump in household spending recorded.

Commodity prices soared the most since 2009 as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens key supplies of energy, crops and metals that were already tight as major economies emerged from the pandemic. The Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index, which tracks 23 futures contracts, climbed 4.1% on Tuesday. The gauge has more than doubled from a four-year low reached in March 2020, during the early days of the health crisis.

The International Energy Agency agreed to deploy 60 million barrels from stockpiles around the world, which amounts to less than six days of Russian output. Financial sanctions against Russia continue to mount, raising the spectre of a major global supply disruption.


Sign up for market update emails