Copper rose 1.5% to US$6265.25 per tonne, its highest level since early May 2019.

 

China and the US signed a phase one trade deal on Wednesday.

 

Oil fell 0.7% to $57.81 a barrel while the other big movers upwards were platinum, nickel and lead, which all gained more than 3%.

 

Platinum and nickel are believed to have risen due to European parliamentary support for larger emission cuts.

 

Platinum rose 3.9% to more than $1000/oz, while cousin palladium added another 2.4% to a new record close.

 

Nickel was up 3.3% to $14,240/t, while lead gained 3.2% to $1992.25/t.

 

Just before the US-China trade deal was signed,  optimism was not good for gold, which fell back to $1549 an ounce, a near two-week low.

 

Marex Spectron head of precious metals David Govett said gold's direction was dependent on the dollar.

 

"The market is very overbought and will be prone to a sharp selloff should the dollar continue on its upward trajectory this week. There are a few economic releases this week in the US which will give a short move to the markets, but nothing substantial," he said.

 

"The wild card in the market, as it has been for a while now is of course the Donald. 2020 is an election year, he is fighting impeachment and anything that can distract the country from this sort of domestic strife is welcome to his re-election campaign. So, although the bellicose rhetoric has quietened down between him and Iran, don't expect it to go away completely. 

 

"As such, being short of gold is never a great idea. Look to buy the market on stop loss and profit-taking dips, of which I think there will be a few."