Oil Rebounds and Gold Tops $4,500 as Geopolitics and Soft U.S. Jobs Data Lift Commodities

Overview

• Brent and WTI rose roughly 3% on Friday as traders reassessed near‑term supply risks linked to unrest in Iran and developments in Venezuela.
• Comex gold for February settled up 0.90% at $4,500.9 per troy ounce, approaching a closing record on renewed safe‑haven demand.
• The dollar strengthened after the U.S. added 50,000 jobs in December versus a 73,000 consensus, with prior months revised down by 76,000 and unemployment at 4.4%.
• Citi projects about $6.8 billion in passive outflows from gold and silver as major commodity indices rebalance, a setup that could heighten short‑term volatility.
• Ritterbusch and Associates note that any meaningful Venezuelan crude reaching the U.S. Gulf Coast would likely take years, limiting immediate effects on oil balances.