ENERGY- Crude oil may trade with an upside bias as oil prices jumped as much as 1 percent on Monday after Saudi Energy Minister Khalid alFalih indicated there was a consensus among OPEC and allied oil producers to continue limiting supplies. The rally came after Falih said on Sunday there was a consensus among Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other non-OPEC producers to drive down crude inventories gently's '', but his country would remain responsive to the needs of what he called a fragile market. OPEC, Russia and other non-member producers, an alliance known as OPEC+, agreed to reduce output by 1.2 million barrels per day from Jan. 1 for six months, a deal designed to stop inventories building up and prices weakening. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.39 per barrel, up 63 cents, or 1%, from their previous settlement.
BASE METAL - Base metals may remain with a weak bias on the stronger rupee. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange rose in early Asian trading on Monday after last week's slump, but Shanghai industrial metals edged down as investors remained wary about the intensifying U.S.-China trade war. Beijing has called on Washington to show "sincerity" if it is to hold meaningful trade talks, after the United States put China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [RIC:RIC: HWT.UL], the world's biggest telecoms equipment maker, on a trade blacklist. Zambia, Africa's second-biggest copper producer, is introducing a new non-refundable sales tax in place of value-added tax, despite criticism from mining companies. The United States struck deals on Friday to lift tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico, the three governments said, removing a major obstacle to legislative approval of a new North American trade pact.
