Commodities: Crude oil advances, OPEC chief says Russia on board

Crude-oil futures were on the front foot on Monday afternoon, but remain well below $50 a barrel despite being helped by some positive risk appetite ahead of the US presidential election.

At about 15:33 GMT, Nymex-quoted West Texas Intermediate was up 1.02% to $44.52 a barrel, while Intercontinental Exchange-traded Brent rose 0.42% to $45.77 a barrel.

OANDA senior market analyst Craig Erlam said Democrat-hopeful Hilary Clinton had apparently stolen back momentum in the US presidential race 48 hours before the vote.

"We may see risk appetite remain positive heading into the vote," he said in a statement.

"The (Republican-candidate Donald) Trump hedge has been partially unwound this morning, with gold slipping more than 1% from around $1300, where it last week ran into resistance."

Erlam noted that this improved risk appetite was also providing a boost for oil prices, which he said looked set to end a six-session losing streak.

"While we could see some reprieve in the short term, a little more downside could be on the cards going forward, with WTI possibly falling back to $42 if $44 support is broken and Brent potentially heading back towards $43."

SwissQuote observed that crude, as expected, was heading lower. "We maintain our bearish view towards key support at $42.55," it said.

"Crude oil is holding way above its 200-Day Moving Average. Expected to reach $60 before year-end," SwissQuote said in a research note.

Also helping to boost crude oil, Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said that Russia was "on board" regarding plans to cut supplies in order to prop up prices.

“We as OPEC remain committed to the Algiers accord [...] I have heard from the highest quarters in Moscow that Russia is on board,” Barkindo said.

Meantime, Comex-traded gold and silver rose, while copper ebbed. Gold fell 1.69% to $1282.4 an ounce, while silver lost 1.01% to $18.19 an ounce. Copper rose 1.39% to 229.65 cents a pound.

London Metals Exchange-traded three-month industrial metals prices were mixed. Copper and tin made moderate gains, while aluminum was moderately lower and zinc firmly down.

Chicago Board of Trade-listed corn fell 0.5% to 347 cents a bushel, while wheat eased 1.09% to 409.75 cents a bushel.

ICE-priced cocoa was down 3.36% to $2447 a MT, with cotton No.2 up 0.54% to 68.9 cents a pound. Live cattle was down 0.29% to 102.43 cents a pound.