After another poor start, the prices of industrial commodities ended the week on the up. The main positives were hints of additional monetary policy support from the ECB and the absence of any more bad news from China (where the official Q4 GDP data showed a further slowdown but little different from expectations). Oil also benefited from Saudi comments that prices as low as $30 are “irrational”, although the imminent blizzard in the US seems likely to provide more tangible support than mere rhetoric from OPEC. If oil prices are indeed unsustainably low, then they might be expected to recover of their own accord without the need for action from Saudi Arabia.
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