On the first Tuesday of this month, when traders returned after the long US Labor Day weekend, front-month WTI slumped below $65 per barrel to hit its lowest level since May 2023. This proved to be the culmination of a 23% decline which began in early July. Oil was very oversold, and prices subsequently turned higher, but not aggressively so. In fact, it took a...
Gold is trading sideways this morning. This follows a strong session yesterday which saw it close at a fresh all-time high. Just under a fortnight ago, gold managed to burst out of a month-long trading range between $2,470 and $2,530. Since then it has continued to push higher, adding around 6%. The daily MACD has also picked up sharply, although it is not...
Both Brent and WTI were a touch weaker in early trade this morning. But both contracts have put in impressive rallies over the past fortnight. Oil prices plunged following the US Labor Day holiday on Monday 9th September. The sell-off saw front-month WTI break below $65 per barrel to trade at its lowest level since May last year. Front-month Brent hit its lowest...
Crude oil has managed an impressive bounce over the last ten sessions. Earlier this month, front-month WTI broke below $65 per barrel to trade at its lowest level since May last year. Front-month Brent hit its lowest level since December 2021. The latest sell-off took both markets into very oversold territory. Since then, oil has rallied sharply, with WTI, as of...
Gold was trading below $2,570 ahead of the Fed’s announcement. It topped $2,600 to hit a new intra-day record on news of the 50 basis point cut (bps) before reversing sharply and breaking below $2,550. Since then, it appears to have found a floor and has been pushing higher throughout the morning. Silver has traded in a similar, yet more volatile, pattern. The...
On Monday gold hit an all-time intra-day high, trading just a tad below $2,590. It pulled back a touch yesterday and was holding steady in early trade this morning. Gold’s behaviour is often tied to interest rates. It’s said that gold does best when interest rates are low as investors can’t earn interest from holding gold. So, when interest rates are high, gold is...
Crude oil was weaker in early trade this morning, giving back a proportion of yesterday’s gains. Oil prices have recovered somewhat over the past week. Last Tuesday front-month WTI fell below $65 to hit its lowest level since May 2023. Since then prices have bounced, with WTI adding around 7.5% from last week’s low to yesterday’s high. But this must be put into...
On Thursday, gold finally managed to break out of its month-long trading range as it surged above $2,530. It built on those gains on Friday to close at a new all-time high just under $2,580. It was firmer again overnight, although it had shed its gains at the time of writing. Time will tell whether the pull-back is simply a round of profit-taking or the beginning...
US stock indices flew higher last night, led by a strong advance in tech stocks. This saw the S&P 500 and NASDAQ end the session up 1.1% and 2.2% respectively. The Dow and Russell 2000 lagged somewhat, with both closing 0.3% higher, but overall the tone was positive. The gains followed the latest update on US inflation with the release of the Consumer Price Index...
Crude oil suddenly became a newsworthy talking point yesterday as Brent fell below $70 per barrel to trade at its lowest level since December 2021. Front-month WTI also fell again, taking it back to levels last seen in May 2023. No one is willing to stand underneath this torrent of selling, as significant buyers continue to stand aside, even after last week’s...
Gold broke above $2,500 in mid-August and has been trading either side of this level ever since. On one hand, this looks quite constructive from a bullish standpoint as the to-and-fro on the daily chart suggests a period of consolidation. This is entirely reasonable given the run-up from $2,300 at the end of June. It’s also encouraging that gold hasn’t yet...
Yesterday saw a sharp turnaround in oil after prices appeared to find a floor on Tuesday. This followed a near-relentless sell-off which began at the beginning of July. But Wednesday brought a last-minute stick save. This saw Brent and WTI bounce sharply. Front-month WTI was trading above $78 earlier this morning, having hit a multi-week low of $73.35 on Tuesday....
Finally, gold found some love yesterday. Prices rallied late afternoon in a move which pushed gold back above $2,400. It went on to build on those gains overnight. The question now is if it can make further upside progress, or is this latest rally going to peter out as resistance is tested around $2,430? Gold is now back within sight of its all-time high around...
Any bullish hopes that crude oil was ready for a rebound, following a month’s-worth of near relentless downside pressure, evaporated yesterday. Front-month WTI slumped below a level of intermediate support around $76 and is getting ever closer to the multi-month lows hit in early June. The daily MACD is pushing deeper into negative territory, indicating that...
It has been a feature, or perhaps more correctly a worry, of the US equity market that post-Covid gains have been driven by a small selection of tech stocks. Less than a month ago, the five largest corporations by market capitalisation, accounted for over 20% of the value of the S&P 500. Understandably, this concentration of risk caused many analysts to express...
Just when the bulls thought that crude may have found some support, the sellers came out and smashed their hopes. While crude was a touch firmer in early trade, the gains were coming from a lower base. Yesterday, front-month WTI appeared to find some support around $77.50, having sliced below $80 at the end of last week. But it didn’t take too much effort for the...
US stock index futures were mixed in early trade this morning. This followed a positive session across all the majors yesterday with strong gains for both the tech-heavy NASDAQ 100 (+1.6%) and the mid-cap, domestically-focused Russell 2000 (+1.7%). Investors will be relieved by the turnaround in fortunes following a general sell-off in the latter half of last...
On Friday morning the oil price looked finely balanced. Front-month WTI had managed to hold support around $80. But it had failed to put sufficient clear water between this level and its first major upside target of $82 per barrel. That proved to be fatal for traders looking for an immediate resumption of the bull run from early June. Crude fell back sharply on...
