CRUDE OIL & GOLD TALKING POINTS:
- Crude oil prices[1] fall on risk aversion, disappointing EIA data
- Bearish technicals may be validated as sentiment sours further
- Gold prices[2] still searching for direction amid competing cues
Crude oil prices fell amid broad-based deterioration in market sentiment for most of yesterday’s trading session, tellingly tracking lower alongside futures on the bellwether S&P 500[3] stock index. The return of US/China trade war jitters[4] appeared to be catalyst du jour, though on-going worries about Italian politics[5] probably didn’t help either.
A late-day recovery in risk appetite courtesy of the somewhat timid tone in minutes from May’s FOMC meeting[6] helped the WTI benchmark trim some earlier losses but upside momentum would prove fleeting. While US stocks managed to finish the day in positive territory, crude sank to session lows as EIA data showed inventories unexpectedly added 1.88 million barrels last week.
Gold prices marked time, torn between a slew of competing catalysts. Risk aversion offered a degree of support as bond yields weakened, but this was undermined as weakness in sentiment-linked currencies and data-inspired falls in the Euro and British Pound[7] amounted to a stronger US Dollar[8], ever the foil for yellow metal. The FOMC[9] minutes release seemed to muddy the waters further.
NEWS FLOW FROM WHITE HOUSE, ST PETERSBURG FORUM IN PLAY
From here, a relatively quiet day on the US data docket is likely to dull monetary policy speculation. A handful of speeches from Fed officials is on tap, but these are unlikely to
