Commodity markets traded mixed in early trade on July 7, with crude oil recovering modestly after the previous session's sharp decline, while precious metals under pressure as investors awaited fresh cues from the US Federal Reserve's meeting minutes.
Oil prices, however, edged higher in early trade on Tuesday as bargain buying emerged after the previous session's sharp decline. Investors continued to assess the impact of higher OPEC+ output alongside the outlook for global fuel demand.
Brent crude futures rose 28 cents, or 0.39 percent, to $72.29 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 29 cents, or 0.26 percent, to $68.84 a barrel after both benchmarks settled near pre-Iran conflict levels in the previous session.
In the precious metals space, gold was little changed as investors awaited the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting for further clues on the future interest rate trajectory. Silver was also largely flat at $62.06 an ounce, while platinum and palladium traded with modest gains.
Meanwhile, the US dollar remained on the back foot as investors continued to scale back expectations of further rate hikes this year after weaker-than-expected US employment data. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last trading at 100.86.