Commodities: US dollar strength weighs on prices

A jump in the value of the US dollar, possibly as traders Stateside returned to their desks, weighed on the entire commodity space.

As of 2106 BST the spot US dollar index was 0.75% higher to 97.66, while the Bloomberg commodity index was off by 0.67% to 86.18.

Aiding the greenback, in its latest monthly Oil Market Report the International Energy Agency said Saudi Arabia might need to reduce its crude output by more in order for OPEC's 'understanding' to freeze production to work.

That saw front month West Texas Intermediate futures slip 1.01% to $50.83 per barrel.

November 2016 heating oil futures on NYMEX were also lower, dropping 1.46% to $1.5867 a gallon.

Precious metals were also down by a similar amount, with spot platinum sporting losses of 1.7 to $948.53/oz. while COMEX-traded gold futures edged lower by 0.40% to $1,255.00.

Of interest for precious metals, the latest WSJ/NBC poll showed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton out in front of her main rival with a nine point lead among likely voters.

Soft commodities on the other hand put in a mixed performance, with December 2016 CBOT corn futures up by 0.66% to $3.4550 a bushel while live cattle futures on the CME slipped 0.95% to $9.91 a pound.