Oil price snaps winning streak but gold price grinds higher still
Outlook on Brent crude oil and gold amid low volume trading into year-end.
Brent crude oil snaps winning streak
Oil - Brent Crude futures, which on Wednesday nearly touched the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) at 81.79 amid the prospect of a prolonged Israeli military campaign in Gaza and Iran’s increasing involvement in the conflict as well as US rate cut expectations boosting global growth and energy demand outlooks, dropped back towards the breached October-to-December downtrend line at 79.24.
The fall in the oil price was triggered by major shipping firms returning to the Red Sea route following the formation of a US-led maritime task force which is to protect commercial vessels in the area and as industry data showed that US crude inventories jumped by 1.84 million barrels last week, the biggest weekly gain in five weeks.
Into year-end this week’s high, together with the 200- and 55-day SMAs, at 81.79 to 82.10 are expected to cap the upside while Tuesday’s low at 78.39 may well hold the downside.
Gold trades in three-week highs
Spot Spot Gold’s advance from its mid-December $1,974 per troy ounce low has reached the 2020, 2022 and May 2023 highs at $2,070 to $2,082 while gunning for the minor psychological $2,100 mark as the US dollar continues to depreciate. Further up sits the early December $2,121 all-time record high.
Potential slips may find support around Friday’s $2,070 high and below it between last Thursday’s $2,055 high and the mid-December high at $2,048.
This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients.
Start trading forex today
Trade the largest and most volatile financial market in the world.
- Spreads start at just 0.6 points on EUR/USD
- Analyse market movements with our essential selection of charts
- Speculate from a range of platforms, including on mobile
Live prices on most popular markets
- Forex
- Shares
- Indices
