Oil and Gold Markets Are Surprisingly Quiet.

Oil markets are surprisingly quiet.

Oil markets, by their standards, have been surprisingly quiet for the past few sessions, consolidating after hefty losses earlier in the week. At this stage, fears over China’s growth and overtightening by the Fed capping US growth seem to be balancing out concerns that Europe will soon widen sanctions on Russian energy imports.

Brent and WTI rose by around 1.40% overnight in directionless trading, but have given those gains back today in Asia, making for plenty of noise, but very little substance. Brent crude is 1.35% lower today at $107.25, and WTI is 1.20% lower at 102.75 a barrel. News that Japan will tender 4.5 million barrels out of its reserves in May seems to have been the excuse for Asia to push prices lower intraday. In the bigger picture, the amounts involved are immaterial.

I continue to expect that Brent will remain in a choppy $100.00 to $120.00 range, with WTI in a $95.00 to $115.00 range. Brent crude has further support at $96.00, and WTI at $93.00 a barrel. A potential European oil embargo on Russia next week after this weekend’s French elections, could see a move towards the top of the range.

What is gold telling markets?

Gold continues to confuse me. Overnight it retreated intraday to test support at $1940.00 an ounce, but as US yields and the US Dollar rallied, it also reclaimed its intraday losses, finishing just 0.30% lower at $1951.50 an ounce. It is unchanged in Asia. Either gold markets are walking into a huge bullish trap as the US Dollar and US yields continue to power higher, or gold markets are warning us that inflation is more entrenched than expected, or that the world is much more dangerous than markets are believing. Any of these scenarios could prove correct.

That said, from a technical perspective, gold still looks vulnerable to a failure of the $1940.00 support which could see more speculative long positions getting culled. Gold would potentially target $1915.00 an ounce and then critical support at $1880.00. Those nagging concerns I have expressed mean a decent washout in prices could be an opportunity to load up again at far better levels.

On the topside, gold has resistance at $1980.00 and $2000.00 an ounce. I believe option-related selling at $2000.00 will be a strong barrier. However, if $2000.00 fails, gold could quickly gap higher to $2020.00, and potentially, retest of $2080.00 an ounce.

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Jeffrey Halley

Jeffrey Halley

Senior Market Analyst, Asia Pacific, from 2016 to August 2022
With more than 30 years of FX experience – from spot/margin trading and NDFs through to currency options and futures – Jeffrey Halley was 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 and Channel News Asia as well as in leading print publications such as 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.
Jeffrey Halley
Jeffrey Halley

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