Both crude benchmarks pushed higher into the London close, with UKOil at $99.94 (+0.79%) back on the doorstep of $100 and USOil up 0.95% to $89.19. A broadly softer dollar set the tone across the European afternoon.

Energy and metals

UKOil’s 0.79% gain extends a 2.64% rise on the week and leaves the grade up 52.38% over twelve months. USOil added 0.95% to $89.19, now 44.13% higher on the year despite a 1.61% dip over the past month.

Precious metals firmed alongside. Gold rose 0.70% to $4,163.10, though it sits 5.52% lower on the month. Silver gained 0.72% to $61.34 and holds a 28.04% advance over the year. Platinum slipped 0.47% to $1,708.87 and palladium was little changed at $1,176.93, the latter still down 16.03% on the month.

Currencies

The dollar weakened across most of the board. EUR/USD rose 0.34% to 1.1254 and GBP/USD added 0.38% to 1.3267, while USD/CAD eased 0.40% to 1.42055.

The sharpest dollar losses came against the Scandinavian and emerging-market currencies: USD/NOK fell 1.06%, USD/ZAR dropped 0.99%, and USD/PLN and USD/MXN each slid roughly 0.66%. The yen was the exception, with USD/JPY up 0.10% to 158.11 and still 2.79% firmer on the month.

Indices

Tokyo set the pace overnight, the Nikkei 225 climbing 1.21% to 70,824.86 β€” a 5.58% weekly gain and a 47.93% rise over the year. European boards were mixed and muted: the DAX 40 edged up 0.19% and the IBEX 35 added 0.46%, while the CAC 40 slipped 0.30% and the Euro Stoxx 50 lost 0.16%. The FTSE 100 closed 0.15% firmer at 10,535.97.

Wall Street carried a steadier bid into the afternoon, the S&P 500 up 0.60% to 7,826.19, the Nasdaq 100 up 0.48% and the Dow Jones 30 up 0.47%.

Crypto

Crypto was the session’s clear laggard. UNI fell 5.75% to $8.5575, the day’s single biggest move, while Polkadot dropped 2.04% to $1.202, Dogecoin lost 1.79% and Litecoin shed 1.61% to $68.93. Bitcoin held comparatively steady at $85,559.06 (-0.22%) and Ethereum eased 0.45% to $2,696.84.

The pullback barely dents the month: Litecoin is still up 24.94% and Polkadot 13.50% over that span.

Into the New York afternoon, the crypto majors remain the session’s weak spot, even as crude and the precious metals keep the risk picture uneven.