Commodities: US dollar strength, trade news weighs on complex

Commodities were pushed lower across the board as the US dollar spot index moved towards its loftiest levels since July on the back of the political deadlock in Italy.

In the background, traders were also keeping close tabs on the ongoing trade talks between the US and China, with selling seen in agricultural futures as a result.

So while the Bloomberg commodity index remained within a whisker of its 52-week highs, as of 2056 BST it was down by 0.71% to 90.2764, as the US dollar spot index climbed 0.47% to 94.858.

Still weighing on crude oil - aside from strength in the Greenback - were remarks from Saudi and Russia during the previous week signaling that they would back restoring some of the market's lost output, amid concerns around the impact that fresh US sanctions may have on Iranian output and a sharp decline in supplies from Venezuela.

Against that backdrop, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for next month delivery were down by 1.55% at $66.83 a barrel on NYMEX, alongside sharp falls in similarly-dated RBOB gasoline, natural gas and heating oil contracts.

WTI hit an intraday low of $65.80 a barrel earlier in the same session,

In the agriculture space meanwhile, July 2018 corn futures on CBoT were down by 1.48% to $4.0 a bushel, alongside losses of 2.31% for similarly-dated ICE traded cocoa.

On a related note, traders at Sucden Financial pointed out the US administration's announcement that a final list of Chinese goods that were set to be targeted would be published by 15 June, with the new levies set to follow "shortly thereafter".

In parallel, it was reported that US Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, was set to meet with Chinese officials in Beijing between 2 to 4 June to continue talks on trade.

December 2018 cotton futures on the other hand were up by 4.62% to $0.9065 a pound on the ICE, setting a fresh 52-week high in the process.