Oil Jumps 4.25% While Gold and Silver Slide in Shanghai Night Trading
Shanghai’s night trading session ended with a split screen on Thursday, October 31, as crude oil futures and precious metals moved in opposite directions. The most active crude oil contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, for December delivery, rose 4.25% to close at 758.50 yuan per barrel. In the same session, Shanghai gold fell 3.51% and Shanghai silver dropped 6.8%, according to exchange data reported by financial news outlets.
The moves matter because Shanghai’s night session, which runs after the daytime close, is when Chinese commodity prices first react to overnight developments in global markets. For oil, the gain extends a run of strength tied to supply concerns and a broader rally in energy prices. For gold and silver, the drop marks a sharp reversal: both metals had been among the year’s best-performing assets, drawing steady buying from Chinese investors seeking a hedge against uncertainty.
A barrel of 758.50 yuan works out to roughly $107 at current exchange rates, a level that would be high by recent standards and one that feeds directly into China’s import bill. China is the world’s largest crude importer, so every yuan of increase in the oil price raises costs for refiners, airlines, trucking companies and factories. The night session’s jump suggests traders are pricing in tighter supply rather than weaker demand.
The gold and silver decline tells a different story. Silver’s 6.8% fall is especially steep for a single session and points to forced selling or a rapid unwinding of leveraged positions. Retail investors in China have poured into gold this year, buying coins, bars and jewellery, and silver has become a popular cheaper alternative. When prices fall that fast, smaller holders are often the first to feel it.
The two moves together suggest a rotation rather than a single macro shock. Money that had been parked in precious metals appears to be moving toward energy and other cyclical assets, or simply heading for the exits after a long rally. That kind of rotation is common late in a year, when funds lock in profits and reposition for the next one.
For global readers, the Shanghai numbers are a useful early indicator. Because the night session runs while London and New York are still active, it often captures the first Chinese reaction to Western news and can hint at how Asian demand will look the next morning. A 4.25% oil gain and a 6.8% silver loss in the same few hours is an unusually wide gap, and it will be worth watching whether the daytime session confirms or reverses it.
What happens next depends on whether the oil rally holds. If crude keeps climbing, Chinese refiners may trim runs and importers may hedge more aggressively, which would show up in later trading volumes. If gold and silver stabilise, the selling may prove to have been a one-night shakeout rather than the start of a deeper retreat. Either way, the October 31 session gave traders a clear picture of where money is moving in China’s commodity markets.