- Oil’s worst slide in a month as demand concerns grow
- Surging yields weigh on gold
- Binance had a 16,000 bitcoin sell order before the 4am plunge
Oil
Oil prices declined as the dollar rebounded and after a mixed oil inventory report raised demand concerns. Gasoline demand showed unexpected weakness as inventories posted a surprise build of 1.3 million bpd vs an expected drop of 1.5 million bpd. The headline draw of 4.5 million barrels was larger-than-expected, but that was because it was the end of maintenance season.
WTI crude is back below the $80 level and it could continue drifting lower if the strong dollar trade resumes.
Gold
Gold prices are back where they belong. After a tentative dip below the $2,000 level, buyers emerge as investors remain unsure about what to expect with the next wave of earnings and as the debate over the Fed’s path continues. In order for risk appetite to remain in place, Wall Street needs to see robust mega-cap tech earnings and become convinced that the Fed won’t be tightening rates beyond the May 3rd meeting.
Political, earnings and credit risks should help send some safe-haven flows gold’s way, but if the king dollar trade returns on expectations that the Fed might need to deliver a few more rate hikes, it could get ugly. If gold doesn’t recapture the $2025 level soon, sellers might easily take over here.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin plunged earlier in Europe as some crypto investors decided to dump large positions before NY got to their trading desks. The 3% Bitcoin drop occurred shortly after 4am est, which means they wanted to do it before the next round of earnings and after a hot UK inflation report.
There are some clear signs of exhaustion with the growth of the global crypto market cap and if we are looking at a consolidation period, this seemed like a good time to get out.
Bitcoin is holding onto the $29,000 level, but if downward pressure continues support does not emerge until the $28,550 region.
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With more than 20 years’ trading experience, Ed Moya is a senior market analyst with OANDA, producing up-to-the-minute intermarket analysis, coverage of geopolitical events, central bank policies and market reaction to corporate news. His particular expertise lies across a wide range of asset classes including FX, commodities, fixed income, stocks and cryptocurrencies.
Over the course of his career, Ed has worked with some of the leading forex brokerages, research teams and news departments on Wall Street including Global Forex Trading, FX Solutions and Trading Advantage. Most recently he worked with TradeTheNews.com, where he provided market analysis on economic data and corporate news.
Based in New York, Ed is a regular guest on several major financial television networks including CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Yahoo! Finance Live, Fox Business and Sky TV. His views are trusted by the world’s most renowned global newswires including Reuters, Bloomberg and the Associated Press, and he is regularly quoted in leading publications such as MSN, MarketWatch, Forbes, Breitbart, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Ed holds a BA in Economics from Rutgers University.
