Commodity wrap: gold and oil slip as Greenland, Iran tensions cool

Gold prices slipped on Thursday on easing geopolitical tensions over Greenland, which dented safe-haven demand.

Meanwhile, silver prices on COMEX were higher as the white-metal hovered around the $93.5 per ounce mark. 

Oil prices fell more than 1% as US President Donald Trump softened threats against Greenland and Iran, allaying fears of lower supply. 

Additionally, base metals rose as Trump backed away from tariff threats against Europe over Greenland.

However, copper prices on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.4% at $12,709.35 per ton. 

Gold slips, but remain near record highs

Gold prices slipped below the $4,800-per-ounce mark on Thursday, but quickly recouped some of the losses to go past that level again. 

The pullback in gold prices followed US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the European tariff threat and the announcement of a framework agreement regarding Greenland.

On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that Trump would not impose tariffs on goods from European countries that opposed his attempt to acquire Greenland.

A future deal concerning Greenland, with a framework established by the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), was also mentioned by Trump.

“Despite the unwinding of this week’s geopolitical upheaval concerning the proposed US takeover of Greenland, gold managed to hold on to most of its recent gains,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation. 

Bullish momentum, expectations of additional Fed rate cuts, and a weaker US dollar are currently supporting the asset.

However, this trade is subject to considerable downside risks.

Meanwhile, silver is showing signs of consolidation following its remarkable ascent to new all-time highs.

After hitting a record price of $95.88 on Tuesday, prices experienced a pull-back, stabilising around the $93 mark.

“The big question now is whether the sideways move over the past few days is a healthy consolidation ahead of another push higher, or if silver is finally losing its upside momentum,” Morrison added. 

Oil slips over 1%

Reversing the gains of the prior session, oil prices fell on Thursday. This decline followed the US President Donald Trump's milder stance on both Greenland and Iran, as investors also evaluated the overall supply and demand outlook.

"There is a deflation of risk premium related to the Greenland debacle, and Iran supply risk has also been reduced," Ole Hansen, chief commodity analyst at Saxo Bank, was quoted by Reuters.

Trump announced on Wednesday that he would not use force to take Greenland and had withdrawn the tariff threats he previously made against European allies.

While expressing a desire to avoid further US military engagement in Iran, Trump also stated that the United States would take action if Tehran restarted its nuclear program.

IG analyst Tony Sycamore forecasts that oil prices will remain around $60 a barrel, a prediction made in light of developments in Greenland and the diminishing likelihood of intervention in Iran.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil's front-month contract is still below resistance at approximately $61.30. 

However, it has managed to avoid falling back into the downward trendlines that had been established since August. 

This suggests a potential weakening of short-seller influence, even as long-standing projections point to a continuous deceleration in worldwide demand growth amid ample supply, according to Morrison.

At the time of writing, Brent crude oil was at $64.28 per barrel, down 1.5%, while WTI was down 1.6% at $59.67 a barrel.