CRUDE OIL & GOLD TALKING POINTS:
- Crude oil and gold prices[1] drop as Sino-US trade war fears sour sentiment
- OPEC seminar may be preview of Vienna strategy session on output curbs
- ECB Forum may offer crucial glimpse of global trends in monetary policy
Crude oil prices turned lower as risk appetite soured across financial markets amid signs of escalation in the Sino-US trade war[2], weighing on the spectrum of sentiment-linked assets to varying degrees. Gold pricesfell as haven demand sent the US Dollar[3] higher, sapping the appeal of anti-fiat alternatives and overwhelming the supportive influence of falling bond yields.
OPEC SEMINAR, ECB FORUM IN THE SPOTLIGHT
From here, official EIA inventory data is expected to show US crude stockpiles shed 2.43 million barrels last week. API numbers published yesterday pointed to a nominally larger 3.02 million barrel outflow, which may foreshadow a narrow upside surprise. That seems unlikely to have a lasting impact on price action however as all eyes remain on the upcoming OPEC+ meeting[4].
With that in mind, soundbites from the OPEC International Seminar might prove most market-moving. Ministers from all of the cartel’s member states are due to attend and their interaction each other as well as the media might offer a glimpse of what to expect when they are joined by representatives of other to producers in Vienna Friday to discuss the fate of coordinated output curbs.
Meanwhile, comments from the ECB Forum in Sintra, Portugal might emerge as the catalyst for gold prices. The gathering of leading economists and central bank officials
