Oil prices settled slightly Monday as a step-up in geopolitical tensions in Middle East supported bullish bets on energy. 

At 14:30 ET, West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled $0.10 higher at $76.92 per barrel, while  Brent oil futures expiring in April fell 0.2% to $82.00 a barrel. 

Gold prices moved little in holiday-thinned Asian trade on Monday, with the yellow metal keeping to a trading range established over the past week as traders sought more cues from upcoming U.S. inflation data.

Among industrial metals, copper prices hit a near three-month low after KoBold Metals- a startup backed by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) founder Bill Gates, found a large copper deposit in Zambia that could form a major copper mine.

Oil prices settled higher on Friday, up about 6% on a week-on-week basis, as worries about supply from the Middle East mounted and as reining outages tightened refined products markets.

Brent crude futures settled up 56 cents, or 0.7%, at $82.19 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled up 62 cents or 0.8%, at $76.84 a barrel.

The dollar eased on Friday as it headed for a fourth week of gains while traders reduced their bets on how quickly the Bank of Japan might raise interest rates and how soon the Federal Reserve will cut them.

Traders shrugged off revised U.S. monthly consumer prices that rose less than initially estimated in December. While underlying inflation remained a bit warm, the mixed picture did not alter the market's outlook on the timing of Fed rate cuts.

For the first time in almost a month, Bitcoin (BTC) crossed above the $47,000 mark on Friday, pushing crypto-related stocks into the green ahead of the stock market open.

The leading cryptocurrency rose 4.5% in the past 24 hours, sitting at around $47,300 at the time of writing.

Gold prices drifted slightly lower on Thursday, taking little support from a decline in the dollar and yields as markets remained on edge over the prospect of higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates. 

But the yellow metal stuck largely within a trading range of $2,000 and $2,050 established over the past week, with traders now awaiting more cues on the path of interest rates.

The dollar rose on Thursday after data on unemployment benefits again pointed to a resilient U.S. labor market, reinforcing the Federal Reserve's message that interest rates are unlikely to be cut in the near term.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, the latest sign of labor market strength despite a recent spike in layoffs.

Oil prices settled higher, as fading hopes of a Gaza ceasefire agreement cooled concerns about potential supply disruptions in the Middle East, but gains were stifled by a larger than expected build in U.S. crude inventories. 

At 14:30 ET, Crude Oil WTI Futures futures settled up 0.8% to $73.86 per barrel. 

The Bitcoin (BTC) community of developers is getting a new standard for making proposals to the network from iconic proponent Samson Mow. Taking to his official X account, Mow declared that the time for "campaigning" for changes to the Bitcoin protocol is over as the coin must keep up with its growing fame.

According to Samson Mow, Bitcoin is becoming the world's new reserve asset; as such, "there must be a higher standard for any proposed changes. Value to the protocol must be first demonstrated with functioning prototypes bearing commercial use."

Gold prices kept to a tight range on Friday and were headed for a second straight week in red as anticipation of more cues on U.S. interest rates kept traders skittish, with key inflation data and a Federal Reserve meeting now in focus.

On the other hand, copper prices were headed for a strong weekly performance after top importer China rolled out more stimulus measures, driving up hopes that demand for the red metal will remain strong.