Bank of England Adopts Hawkish Stance

US crude oil futures climbed on Thursday, reversing course after falling to their lowest level in close to two weeks. Contracts for September delivery rallied 1.90% to end the previous session at $68.98 a barrel. The recovery was largely driven by traders initiating long positions after US futures fell to their 100-day moving average of around $67.90 a barrel. Prices had tumbled earlier in the session after figures from the US Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday showed that crude oil inventories unexpectedly increased. Stockpiles rose by 3.80 million barrels last week to 409.00 million barrels. The consensus of analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal forecast an average weekly decline of 2.20 million barrels.

Copper prices declined for the fifth time in the past six trading sessions on Thursday as a flare-up in trade tensions between the United States and China overshadowed news of a union strike at BHP Billiton's Escondida mine in Chile. Metals investors fear that growing trade friction between the two biggest economies will put pressure on global growth and hurt industrial demand, making the strike at Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, a secondary concern for now. Copper futures for September delivery were last seen around $2.7300 a pound in Friday morning trade.