Bad for oil and good for poundYesterday marked of news regarding the oil market and its prospects. Moreover, this news has a one-sided impact in terms of the impact on oil quotes.
On the supply side, we have a message about the discovery of a huge oil field in Iran. It is about 50 billion barrels. To understand if it is a lot, let’s have a look at the statistics. Proved oil reserves in Iran rank fourth largest in the world (150 billion barrels). Accordingly, 50 billion = 30% will be added to existing stocks. That is a lot. It should be noted that while Iran is under sanctions, that is an accumulated potential than a real injection of additional supply on the market. But from the perspective of a market development strategy, the signal is undoubtedly bearish.
Especially when you consider the news that Global oil demand may peak within the next 20 years, according to an assessment included in the prospectus for Saudi Aramco's initial public offering and, and further it will only decline. This news does not solve much in terms of supply/demand. But the prospects look extremely alarming for oil buyers.
Sum up, in the short term, this news does not have that much impact. But in the long term, the oil market looks increasingly vulnerable. Knowing the markets and their general timidity, we will refrain from buying oil at current prices and will prefer its sales on the intraday basis this week. Until it becomes clear that investors and traders are fully aware of the situation.
Yesterday, the foreign exchange market was relatively calm. The only exception is the British pound. Moreover, the reason for its splash was not macroeconomic statistics, which would be logical, since the data were published very important (GDP and industrial production), but traditionally news regarding Brexit.
Nigel Farage has said the Brexit party will not field any candidates against the Conservatives in the 317 seats they won at the last general election. Motivation is the desire to prevent a second referendum on Brexit.
The pound on this news naturally grew, since the chances of a “soft” Brexit increased. However, we believe that in the current political situation, any “scenario” play into the hands of the pound. So its purchases, in our opinion, remain relevant.
Our idea is confirmed by yesterday’s reaction of the pound to rather weak macroeconomic statistics. Industrial production in September fell by 0.3% (forecast: -0.1% m / m), and GDP for the third quarter grew by only 0.3% (forecast: + 0.4%), and the state of the trade balance significantly worsened ( -12.541 billion against -10.825 in August). However, the pound has grown steadily
We also do not forget to sell the Russian ruble, which again trades above 63.50, hinting that paired with the dollar its next target is 65.
Saudiaramco
USA and China, Saudi Aramco and Bank of EnglandThe previous week, promised to be relatively calm, however, it turned out to be eventful. Gold and the Japanese yen were under downward pressure. The reason is the progress in negotiations between the US and China as well as the growth of positive market expectations regarding the end of trade wars in the foreseeable future. The main result of the week was the news that the United States and China agreed on a phased cancellation of duties before signing a deal.
Another event was a separate decision by the Bank of England to leave the rate unchanged. Markets did not expect two members of the Monetary Policy Committee to be in favour of a rate cut. That triggered a decline in the British pound value. In general, you should not expect strong movements in the pound, because the basic driver of pound value in the last 3 years is Brexit. But it is paused so far. So any movement caused by news not related to UK exit will be limited.
Due to the large amounts of macroeconomic statistics, the future of the pound looks very vague. On Monday, data on GDP and industrial production in the UK will be published, on Tuesday - statistics on the labour market, on Wednesday - inflation data, on Thursday the data on retail sales will sum up the week. Since the dynamics of the pound, this week will depend on the output data, we will adjust the positions depending on the nature of the data. At the same time, we do not expect irrationality from the foreign exchange market. That is, weak data will provoke sales in pound pairs, and positive statistics data will be the reason for the growth of the pound. Total, this week in the pound we will act contextually, but we give preference to its purchases.
On the other hand, we have a very definite position in the oil market - we will look for points for asset purchases. Saudi Arabia in connection with the impending IPO Saudi Aramco will do anything to ensure the growth of oil prices. Latest data on the number of active oil rigs in the United States (the number has dropped to the lowest marks since April 2017) play into the hands of buyers. So we buy oil on the intraday basis. The goal is the growth up to 60.
Dollar in danger, trade optimism and commodity markets go upThis week, as we noted yesterday, will not be rich in fundamental events, so markets have focused on the trade war.
China deal is likely to be signed in November. Added to this positive news the information that the United States may not set tariffs on imported cars from Europe and Japan.
Naturally, the safe-haven assets adjusted against this background. Despite yesterday's decline, we continue to recommend the purchase of gold and the Japanese yen. Entry points based on yesterday have become even more attractive.
Therefore we observed the growth in the commodity markets. Recall, we recommend buying oil in the region of $ 60 (brand WTI). Especially when you consider the latest news that the IPO Saudi Aramco is finally completing its long epic. With the current information, on December 11, shares of the company can be offered for trading on the Riyadh Stock Exchange.
Returning to the foreign exchange market, we note that the dollar looks less strong in the foreign exchange market. According to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), speculative rates on the growth of the dollar on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange fell by almost two-thirds. Thus, speculators sell the dollar for the second week in a row, and if this trend develops, then in the next reporting period its net position may become short.
So we recall our recommendation to sell the US dollar. The sale of USDCAD seems to be promising. According to CFTC, the net long speculative position on the Canadian dollar reached its most bullish level since December 2017. That is, the markets are very aggressive and it is worth to join the general rush. However, sales of the dollar against the yen, the euro and the pound also look quite prospective.
As for today, the Reserve Bank of Australia expectedly left the rate unchanged. And the most interesting event in terms of macroeconomic statistics today is the publication of the ISM index of business activity in the US services sector. Also, pay attention to the data on the US trade balance.