Crude Oil Futures: Extra consolidation looks likely

Pablo Piovano FXStreet

CME Group’s advanced prints for crude oil futures markets noted traders added around 8.8K contracts to their open interest positions on Friday, reaching the third build in a row. Volume, instead, went down for the third straight session, this time by around 273.5K contracts.

WTI faces the next hurdle near $68.00

Friday’s inconclusive session gyrated around the $66.00 neighbourhood amidst rising open interest, leaving the door open for the continuation of this mood at least in the very near-term. In the meantime, prices of the WTI face the next relevant resistance at the 2021 highs just below the $68.00 mark per barrel (March 8).

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Pablo Piovano

FXStreet

Born and bred in Argentina, Pablo has been carrying on with his passion for FX markets and trading since his first college years.

EUR/USD flirts with weekly lows near 1.1770

EUR/USD now comes under further selling pressure, breaking below the 1.1800 support to challenge the area of weekly throughs near 1.1770 on Thursday. The pair’s decline comes in response to marked gains in the US Dollar amid steady geopolitical tensions. Ealier in the day, the ECB’s Lagarde delivered cautious remarks, although the currency remained apathetic.

GBP/USD threatens the 200-day SMA near 1.3440

GBP/USD rapidly leaves behind Wednesday’s strong advance, coming under heavy pressure and retesting the 1.3440 zone, where the critical 200-day SMA is located. Cable’s deep pullback follows the strong gains in the Greenback, while investors continue to pencil in a potential BoE rate cut in March.

Gold trims gains, slips back to around $5,170

Gold is now facing some downside pressure, hovering around the $5,170 region on Thursday. The yellow metal surrenders part of its earlier gains on the back of the resurgence of the buying interest in the Greenback. In the meantime, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to limit the downside potential for now.