Last week was an interesting one for oil traders, with the rally of Monday promising much, only for this move to be snuffed out during the remainder of the week, as the WTI Light Sweet Crude (USO, quote) contract for January closed close to the open at $65.84 per barrel.
To say the last few days have been a roller coaster ride for commodities would be an understatement, with both oil and gold providing some sensational trading opportunities, but for very different reasons. For gold, it was the Swiss referendum over the weekend, and for oil, it was the OPEC meeting in Vienna.
Brent crude oil (BNO, quote) dipped below $70 on to start the week as the commodity continued to free-fall following OPEC’s decision not to implement a cut. The commodity traded at $68.60 at 8:30 GMT on Monday morning as investors looked to economic data for any indication that the global economy could pick up.
The price action for gold throughout much of November could best be described as chaotic, with volatile days of price action subsequently followed by periods of relative inactivity, only to be replaced with extreme and unpredictable swings intraday. And perhaps the place to start with any analysis for the precious metal is on the weekly chart, for a more considered view of the price action.
Worries about the division between OPEC members remained a major driver of oil prices on Wednesday and drove Brent crude oil (BNO, quote) lower. The commodity traded at $78.73 at 8:45 GMT as investors kept an eye on the cartel’s debate over whether or not to cut supplies at next week’s meeting.
An unnamed senior India ministry has indicated that India is likely to announce procedures to reduce gold imports as early as today.
Brent crude (BNO, quote) oil began the week on a low note after GDP data helped confirm suspicions of a global slowdown. The commodity traded at $78.19 at 8:15 GMT, following surprising reports that Japan had fallen into a recession.
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For oil traders and speculators hitting the sell button has become almost automatic, as the heavily bearish tone for the commodity shows no signs of abating just yet, with another solid move lower yesterday offering low risk trading opportunities once again.
It was a day of muted trading for oil yesterday, with both the US and Canada observing a public holiday in honor of their war veterans, and as a result the Wednesday oil inventories report is now scheduled for Thursday.
