Gold consolidates below one-year high while Brent range trades and copper rises
Outlook on Brent crude oil, gold and copper prices amid softening US data.
Brent stays sidelined in low volatility range
Brent crude oil continues to be sidelined around the $84.50 level, having gapped higher earlier this week following the surprise announcement by OPEC+ over the weekend that it will cut production by around 1.16 million barrels, in response to declining prices.
A rise above this week’s high at $85.94 is needed for the mid-February and March highs at $86.59 to $86.72 to be reached. Immediate support can be found along the breached November-to-April downtrend line which now acts as a support line at $83.30 and sits within the March-to-April $79.91 to $83.45 gap.
At least part of it is expected to be filled in the coming days with the 55-day simple moving average (SMA) at $82.02 offering possible support.
Gold rally is taking a breather
Gold’s rise above its March one-year high at $2,009 per troy ounce on softening US job openings has pushed the precious metal to levels last traded in March 2022 to $2,032 on Wednesday before losing some of its upside momentum.
Further profit taking ahead of the prolonged Easter weekend may take it back to the $2,009 to $2,003 previous resistance zone, the March highs, now because of inverse polarity a support zone, with further support sitting around the psychological $2,000 mark.
The all-time March 2022 high at $2,070 remains a possible upside target once a daily chart close above this week’s high at $2,032 has been made, assuming there is no bearish reversal (currently unexpected) which takes the precious metal to below Monday’s $1,950 low.
Copper trying to recover some recently lost ground
This week’s slide in the price of copper on the back of weaker US data and increasing recession fears seems to have halted, at least temporarily, at Wednesday’s $8,666 per ton low when the industrial metal formed a bullish Hammer on the daily candlestick chart.
Following rapidly declining US job openings by 632 000 in March, a near two-year low, and weaker than expected US ISM Services PMI and ADP non-farm employment readings, the copper price fell to a two-week low before stabilising ahead of Friday’s non-farm payrolls.
The one-week resistance line at $8,907 may thus be revisited but the next higher 55-day SMA at $8,962 would need to be bettered for the price of copper to head back up towards its February high at $9,212.
A currently unexpected failure at this week’s $8,666 low would engage the March trough at $8,443.
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