Oil stabilises while US natural gas drops to 11-month low and gold rallies to 6-month high
Outlook on oil, gold and US natural gas amid re-opening of China and mild weather forecasts.
WTI regains lost ground after brief dip to below the $80 mark
WTI kicked off 2023 by slipping below the minor psychological $80 mark on fears of a global economic slowdown and lower energy demand but is recovering on hopes that China’s swift re-opening could lead to a faster recovery in the world’s largest oil importing country.
December’s high at $81.18 and the 55-day simple moving average (SMA) at $81.30 are about to be reached, a rise above which would lead to the early December high at $83.30 being eyed next.
Below this week’s low at $79.40 a one-month support line can be spotted at $78.40 and the September low at $76.12.
Gold trades at six-month highs on growth concerns
Gold is pursuing its advance at six-month highs and is now trading around $1,850 per troy ounce as growth concerns dominate sentiment at the start of the year.
On Tuesday morning the precious metal was seen gunning for its mid-June high at $1,857, above which the May-to-June highs can be seen at $1,869 to $1,877 which represent strong resistance.
Slips should find support around the $1,833 December peak below which the mid-December high can be found at $1,824.
US natural gas futures trade at 11-month lows
US natural gas futures have now slid below $4.0/MMBtu, their lowest level since February 2022, as traders anticipate lower heating demand on the back of clement weather forecasts for January.
The Freeport LNG export plant in Texas, forced to shut down in June 2022 following a fire, is also expected to re-open in the second half of January, adding further supply and thus, amid a build-up of inventories, is pushing natural gas prices down as well.
After seven consecutive days of falling prices, the next downside target is the February 2022 low at $3.875 below which the January 2022 low can be seen at $3.670.
Resistance above the minor psychological $4.000 mark can be found at the December-to-January price gap at $4.231 to $4.348.
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