London Wrap: Crude Extends Its Run as Oil Leads the Board

Energy did the heavy lifting into the London close. US crude added 1.81% to $85.90 and Brent rose 1.30% to $90.19, both extending a run that now stretches past 8% on the week and above 21% on the month.

Commodities and metals

The oil bid pulled the whole hard-asset complex higher. Silver climbed 1.45% to $59.69, up 7.43% over the week, and gold gained 1.22% to $4,130. Platinum lagged the pack but still finished up 0.63%.

That strength rippled into the krone. USDNOK fell 0.72% and EURNOK dropped 0.68%, leaving the Norwegian currency among the day’s firmest majors alongside a 0.74% slide in USDZAR.

Indices

Europe closed green across the board. The FTSE 100 rose 1.07% to 10,711 and Spain’s IBEX 35 added 1.03%, with the CAC 40 up 0.54% and the DAX up 0.40%. The Euro Stoxx 50 edged 0.27% higher.

The contrast came from Tokyo, where the Nikkei 225 fell 1.69% — the day’s weakest index — though it remains up 47.58% on the year. Wall Street was quieter, with the S&P 500 flat and the Nasdaq 100 off 0.37%.

Currencies

Majors were subdued. EURUSD held at 1.1406, barely changed, while GBPUSD slipped 0.06% to 1.3369 and is down 0.80% on the week. USDJPY hovered at 163.09. The dollar’s moves were largest against the commodity-linked and Scandinavian currencies rather than the core pairs.

Crypto

Digital assets leaned lower. Stellar led the retreat, down 2.32%, with Bitcoin Cash off 2.15% and Bitcoin easing 0.97% to $65,864. Litecoin bucked the trend with a 1.22% gain.

Into the New York afternoon, energy remains the session’s clear engine, with the oil and precious-metals rally the thread tying the day’s biggest moves together.