Commodities: Gold futures slip as US dollar jumps, Brent higher after Iranian threats

Metals futures took a hit at the end of the week on the heels of a better than expected report on the state of the US jobs market, but energy futures gained after a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guards called on his government to seize a British oil tanker in retaliation for the recent detention of an Iranian vessel when it was crossing the Strait of Gibraltar.

According to the US Department of Labor, US non-farm payrolls jumped by 224,000 in June, eclipsing forecasts for an increase of 158,000 and leading some analysts to trim their expectations for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve at its next policy meeting on 30-31 July, from 50 basis points to 25.

On the back of that data, the US dollar spot index snapped higher by 0.56% to 97.3130, pushing August-dated gold on COMEX 1.44% lower to $1,400.5/oz. and the silver contract for September delivery down by 2.13% to $15.01/oz..

Base metals contracts on the LME meanwhile were down across the board as well, save for three-month nickel futures.

Three-month copper on the other hand slipped from $5,925 per metric tonne at the open to $5,902 by the close, in part amid "continued demand fears" after Chile's Codelco postponed the return of its Chuquicamata smelter until mid-August, said traders at Sucden Financial.

There was however some 'market chatter' in the background regarding a possible forthcoming cut in Chinese lenders' reserve requirement ratios in order to boost investment in infrastructure.

Brent crude oil futures on the other hand jumped by 1.74% to $64.40 a barrel on the ICE after Revolutionary Guards commander, Mohsen Rezai, took to Twitter to say: "If Britain does not release the Iranian oil tanker, it is the authorities' duty to seize a British oil tanker."

Those gains came alongside a 6.51% rise in August natural gas on NYMEX to $2.44/MMBtu.

Trading in soft commodities was mixed, with CME live cattle for August delivery up by 1.47% to $1.07/lb. but cotton #2 on ICE down by 0.68% to $0.6679/lb.