Oil prices are steady
Both Brent crude and WTI were caught up in recession fears overnight, plummeting by four dollars a barrel at one stage in panicked New York trading. Once again, both contracts found their feet as the US dollar retreated after rate hike comments from Fed officials, finishing the day nearly unchanged after a torrid session.
Brent crude finished almost unchanged at USD 99.55, adding 0.30% to USD 99.90 a barrel in Asian trading. WTI was almost unchanged at USD 96.45 overnight, slipping 0.30% to USD 96.20 a barrel in Asia today. How oil finishes the week will be reliant on how the US data comes out tonight, and after this week’s volatility, I won’t try to second-guess the gnomes of Wall Street.
Brent crude has resistance at USD 101.00, and then USD 104.00 a barrel, followed by a now distant USD 106.00 a barrel. It has support at USD 97.00, the 200-day moving average (DMA), and then USD 95.50 a barrel. WTI has support at USD 94.15, the 200 DMA, and then USD 90.60 a barrel. Resistance is at USD 98.00, followed by USD 101.00 a barrel.
Gold’s recovery was over before it started
Gold had another near USD 40 dollar range overnight, but this time, it could not recoup those losses, and its incipient recovery looks over before it started. Gold fell by 1.50% to USD 1710.00 overnight, where it remains treading water in Asian trading. Gold’s fate is entirely in the hands of US data tonight, and whether that can spark losses for the US dollar, otherwise the technical picture has flipped in one day to looking very ominous once again.
Failure of USD 1675.00 will signal a much deeper move lower targeting the USD 1450.00 to USD 1500.00 an ounce regions in the weeks ahead. Gold has resistance at USD 1745.00, now a double top. That is followed by USD 1780.00, USD 1800.00, its June downward trendline.
This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.
With more than 30 years of FX experience – from spot/margin trading and NDFs through to currency options and futures – Jeffrey Halley is OANDA’s senior market analyst for Asia Pacific, responsible for providing timely and relevant macro analysis covering a wide range of asset classes.
He has previously worked with leading institutions such as Saxo Capital Markets, DynexCorp Currency Portfolio Management, IG, IFX, Fimat Internationale Banque, HSBC and Barclays.
A highly sought-after analyst, Jeffrey has appeared on a wide range of global news channels including Bloomberg, BBC, Reuters, CNBC, MSN, Sky TV, Channel News Asia as well as in leading print publications including the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, among others.
He was born in New Zealand and holds an MBA from the Cass Business School.
