Markets, 3 November 2026
Brent closed Monday down about 8%, copper slips, steel still firm
What moved
- Oil had a big Monday. Brent closed Monday at about $104.20 a barrel, down roughly 8% from Friday’s $113.40. That’s a far bigger drop than the 3% it showed early yesterday. This morning it’s around $104.80, up about 0.6%, and WTI is around $96.70, up about 0.4%. Both are down 3 to 4% on the week. The monthly figures still span the late-September contract roll, so I’m ignoring them.
- Copper slips. COMEX copper is around $14,214 a tonne, down about 1.5% so far today and about 3% on the week. Aluminium is around $3,170, down about 0.9% today and flat on the week. Zinc still hasn’t updated since 23 October ($3,944), so it’s stale.
- Steel stays firm. US Midwest HRC is about $1,550 a tonne, up about 0.6% on the day and about 7.7% on the month. Shanghai rebar is 3,007 yuan a tonne, down about 1.8% on the week.
- Gold eases. It’s around $3,938 an ounce, down about 0.5% today, 3.4% on the week and 5.4% on the month.
- Stocks, Monday’s closes. The S&P 500 closed at 7,541, down about 0.5%. The Nasdaq closed at about 25,164, down about 5% on the week and 7% on the month. Emerging markets (EEM) closed at 61.11, up 0.1%. At home the DFM rose about 0.6% to 5,808 and the ADX about 0.3% to 9,491, though the ADX is still down about 6% on the month.
- Rates and the dollar. The latest Treasury yields are from 30 October: the 2-year at 4.56% and the 10-year at 4.94%, both a few basis points lower and down more than 30 basis points over the month. The dollar index is around 101.8, flat. The monthly US PPIs for copper wire and cable, steel wire drawing and cement are still the September figures.
The truth: The headline is oil. An 8% one-day drop in Brent is a real move, and if it holds it takes a noticeable bite out of freight and energy costs for UAE cable, electrical and construction suppliers. Near $104 Brent is still a comfortable level for Gulf budgets, so I don’t read it as a threat to project spending yet. Copper easing about 3% over the week gives conductor-heavy quotes a little room, but not enough to cut prices on. Steel is the opposite story: HRC is up nearly 8% on the month, and that feeds straight into wire, mesh, fencing, towers and rebar. Lower Treasury yields help a bit on financing, and with the dirham pegged that carries over here. Keep steel-heavy quotes short, keep escalation clauses in, and give oil a few more sessions before treating the drop as the new level. Not investment advice.
Sources and as-of dates for every number are on the Markets board.