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Below the Quote on Gold and Crude by Kaynat Chainwala, Senior Manager-Commodity Research, Kotak Securities

WTI Crude oil extended gains for the third consecutive day and closed above $80 per bbl, amid escalation in geo-political tensions. In Russia, a Ukrainian drone strike caused a fire at an oil terminal at a major port, while a top Israeli official warned of an impending “all out war” with Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Robust demand estimates from EIA, IEA and OPEC in their monthly reports released last week also aids the sentiments. API inventory data released earlier today showed stocks of US crude oil inventories rose by 2.264 million barrels during the previous week and investors keenly await EIA data later today.

COMEX Gold prices closed higher on Tuesday as softer than expected US retail sales increased rate cut wagers. Date released yesterday showed that Retail sales in the US rose by 0.1% in May, missing the 0.2% forecast and signaling cooling consumer sentiment. Meanwhile, a chorus of Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday emphasized the need for more evidence of cooling inflation before lowering interest rates. Elsewhere, more central banks plan to increase their gold reserves within a year due to economic and political uncertainty, according to a recent survey by World Gold Council.

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