Big week ahead for commodities with Omicron Variant, Fed and OPEC+ in focus – What's next? [Video]

Phil Carr The Gold & Silver Club

Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the world once again finds itself in a "race against time" to contain a new coronavirus variant, which is spreading like wildfire across the globe.

Gold prices exploded higher on Friday after the new heavily mutated Omicron coronavirus variant sparked international travel bans and restrictions, spurring concern the fragile global economic recovery will come grinding to a halt.

What comes next will be dictated by what scientists discover about the new COVID-19 variant, including how resistant it is to vaccines and how more transmissible it is than the delta variant.

Looking ahead it’s another busy week for the markets, packed with a series of high-impact events including; Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s testimony before Senate, a critical OPEC+ output policy meeting as well as the latest U.S employment figures.

With Omicron rapidly emerging as a variant of concern, traders will be eager to hear from both Fed Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Secretary-Treasurer Janet Yellen when they testify in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Expectations are running high that this latest round of COVID fears may encourage the Federal Reserve to pause its tapering plans or even delay the timeline for interest rate hikes.

Elsewhere this week, all eyes will be on OPEC and its allies as they meet on 2 December to decide whether or not to raise Oil output.

Many traders are convinced that the cartel could ditch plans to raise Oil output at the meeting as the demand outlook worsens on travel restrictions and a possible slowdown in global economic growth.

Also on the radar, this week will be the closely watched U.S jobs report for November, due for release on Friday.

Where are prices heading next? Watch The Commodity Report now, for my latest price forecasts and predictions:

Author

Phil Carr

The Gold & Silver Club

Phil is the co-founder and Head of Trading at The Gold & Silver Club, an international Commodities Trading Firm specializing in Metals, Energies and Soft Commodities.

EUR/USD flirts with daily highs, retargets 1.1900

EUR/USD regains upside traction, returning to the 1.1880 zone and refocusing its attention to the key 1.1900 barrier. The pair’s slight gains comes against the backdrop of a humble decline in the US Dollar as investors continue to assess the latest US CPI readings and the potential Fed’s rate path.

GBP/USD remains well bid around 1.3650

GBP/USD maintains its upside momentum in place, hovering around daily highs near 1.3650 and setting aside part of the recent three-day drop. Cable’s improved sentiment comes on the back of the Greenback’s irresolute price action, while recent hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill also collaborate with the uptick.

Gold holds above $5,000 as bears seem hesitant amid Fed rate cut bets

Gold edges lower at the start of a new week, though it defends the $5,000 psychological mark through the Asian session. The underlying bullish sentiment is seen acting as a headwind for the bullion. However, bets for more rate cuts by the Fed, bolstered by Friday's softer US CPI, keep the US Dollar bulls on the defensive and continue to support the non-yielding yellow metal as the focus now shifts to FOMC Minutes on Wednesday.

Week ahead: Data blitz, Fed Minutes and RBNZ decision in the spotlight

The US jobs report for January, which was delayed slightly, didn’t do the dovish Fed bets any favours, as expectations of a soft print did not materialize, confounding the raft of weak job indicators seen in the prior week.

Global inflation watch: Signs of cooling services inflation

Realized inflation landed close to expectations in January, as negative base effects weighed on the annual rates. Remaining sticky inflation is largely explained by services, while tariff-driven goods inflation remains limited even in the US.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP potential bottom could be in sight

Ripple edges up above the intraday low of $1.35 at the time of writing on Friday amid mixed price actions across the crypto market. The remittance token failed to hold support at $1.40 the previous day, reflecting risk-off sentiment amid a decline in retail and institutional sentiment.