Brent crude oil and gold rise as natural gas slides
Outlook on Brent crude oil, gold and natural gas as Fed remains on track to hike one more time.
Brent crude oil trades in 2 ½ month highs
Brent crude oil’s over 3% advance from Tuesday’s $83.59 low has taken it to a 2 ½ month high around the $87 handle amid tight global supply.
Early April’s surprise OPEC+ production cut of around 1.16 million barrels per day from May until year end, slowing oil shipments from Russia, and halted pipeline flows from Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region all led to higher oil prices since the beginning of the month.
The mid-February and March highs at $86.59 to $86.72 have so far been reached with the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) at $88.57 representing the next upside target, followed by the $89.01 January peak.
Support sits at last week’s high at $85.95 and further minor support in the $85.45 to $85.33 region where most of last week’s highs were made.
Gold price continues to rise
Gold’s ascent towards its one-year $2,032 per troy ounce early April peak remains on track amid a depreciating US dollar on softer-than-expected US inflation data for the month of March.
Were a rise above the $2,032 level to be seen, the March 2022 peak and the August 2020 all-time high at $2,070-to-$2,075 would be next in line. Support comes in along the March-to-April uptrend line at $2,005 which sits between $2,009 to $2,003, the late March highs.
The medium-term uptrend remains intact while Monday’s low at $1,982 underpins on a daily chart closing basis. Below it lies the $1,959 February high.
US natural gas futures resume their descent
US natural gas futures are slipping back towards their $2.105 late February and $2.065 early April lows on forecasts for milder weather and as Malaysia's national oil company Petronas aims to restart a gas pipeline currently under force majeure by the first quarter of 2024.
From a technical perspective US natural gas prices remain on track to reach the psychological $2.000 mark, provided they stay below this week’s high at $2.328 on a daily chart closing basis.
Below this level a resistance line can be spotted at $2.282, along with the late March high at $2.264, both of which may act as minor resistance.
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