On Thursday, January contract on Brent (ICE) was trading in a relatively narrow range between 110.6 and 111.6 USD per barrel (USD/bbl). As in previous sessions, markets focused mainly on Libya. Yesterday, the situation got probably even worse because as much as 40 people may have been killed in an explosion during an attempt to steal ammunition in south Libya.
Moreover, clashes also continued in the eastern part of the country where four soldiers were reported being killed in Benghazi. Nevertheless, Brent eventually posted small loss yesterday and settled at 110.86 USD/bbl and timespreads continued to tighten as North Sea oil supply/demand balance has remained comfortable.
Base Metals
Yesterday, volumes traded were lower and the session generally calmer than normal because of the US holiday (Thanksgiving) but it did not prevent aluminium price from sliding even lower. The three-month contract (LME) even dipped to as low as 1744 USD per ton (USD/t) in intraday trading which was the lowest price since July 2009 (that is, more than a four-year low). Although RSI indicates that aluminium may be oversold, the next target is seen at 1732 USD/t.