Weakness in the oil price persists, especially in Brent crude which fell yesterday and this morning has dropped below $104, traders yesterday saw it in the $104.40-105.40 range, but the support just isn’t there. There is no doubt that supply is trumping geopolitics at the moment and for those looking for a breakout, such as at IG where I talked last week, the downside has the upper hand. Market fundamentals are in the IEA monthly report out this morning, in July, Opec production was at a five month high of 30.44m b/d and Saudi Arabia was up at 10m b/d so even with high summer domestic demand it was filling those gaps. The Iraqi Oil Ministry announced that exports are unchanged and forecast August numbers to be at 2.5m b/d. Worse news was in the IEA demand numbers, particularly for next year as they followed the Opec research by calling them down despite still having positive GDP forecasts which is not a given.
Politically, Iraq is now supposedly in the process of changing Prime Ministers with al-Maliki being replaced by Haider al Abadi as the President’s (and the USA…) choice of leader. Abadi is meant to be a much safer pair of hands as he apparently appeals to a broader spectrum of citizens if that is possible but Maliki is not showing signs of going quietly.
Politically, Iraq is now supposedly in the process of changing Prime Ministers with al-Maliki being replaced by Haider al Abadi as the President’s (and the USA…) choice of leader. Abadi is meant to be a much safer pair of hands as he apparently appeals to a broader spectrum of citizens if that is possible but Maliki is not showing signs of going quietly.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
AUD/USD weakens further as US Treasury yields boost US Dollar
The Australian Dollar extended its losses against the US Dollar for the second straight day, as higher US Treasury bond yields underpinned the Greenback. On Wednesday, the AUD/USD lost 0.26% as market participants turned risk-averse. As the Asian session begins, the pair trades around 0.6577.
EUR/USD stuck near midrange ahead of thin Thursday session
EUR/USD is reverting to the near-term mean, stuck near 1.0750 and stuck firmly in the week’s opening trading range. Markets will be on the lookout for speeches from ECB policymakers, but officials are broadly expected to avoid rocking the boat amidst holiday-constrained market flows.
Gold price drops amid higher US yields awaiting next week's US inflation
Gold remained at familiar levels on Wednesday, trading near $2,312 amid rising US Treasury yields and a strong US dollar. Traders await unemployment claims on Thursday, followed by Friday's University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment survey.
President Biden threatens crypto with possible veto of Bitcoin custody among trusted custodians
Joe Biden could veto legislation that would allow regulated financial institutions to custody Bitcoin and crypto. Biden administration’s stance would disrupt US SEC’s work to protect crypto market investors and efforts to safeguard broader financial system.
Navigating the future of precious metals
In a recent episode of the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference podcast, hosted by Jesse Day, guests Stefan Gleason and JP Cortez shared their expert analysis on the dynamics of the gold and silver markets and discussed legislative efforts to promote these metals as sound money in the United States.