OPEC’s Rubber Stamp Leaves Oil Lukewarm

OPEC’s summit passes without incident as the production cut extension was rubber-stamped and Libya and Nigeria are brought into the fold.

The oil market breathed a sigh of relief as the OPEC/Non-OPEC meeting passed without incident with the grouping doing precisely what the street had priced in, extending the production cut agreement nine months to cover all of 2018. The additional positive news was that Libya and Nigeria were both bought into the fold, but markets barely reacted with Brent and WTI both closing the session unchanged from the day before.

With prices flatlining on a closing basis and neither contract able to even remotely test their November highs, attention may well turn to positioning fatigue. The danger is that traders will look to square up long positioning into the weekend, setting in motion a corrective sell-off.

Brent

Brent crude opened at 63.15 and had climbed 40 cents to 57.55 in early Europe having failed ahead of 64.00 overnight. It now has several layers of daily double tops at 64.00 initially, followed by 64.45 and 64.85.  It must chew through all of these levels to reignite the rally. Supports lies at 62.00 followed by the two-month trendline at 61.60 and then 61.25 multiple daily lows.

Brent Crude Daily

WTI

WTI was comatose at 57.35 in Asia before climbing 40  cents to 57.70 in Europe. It has resistance at 58.15 and then the two-year high and daily double top at 58.85. The downside looks more worrying, its two-month trendline support very near to current levels, at 57.00 this morning. A break sets up a drop to 56.00 and then 55.00.

All in all, with momentum waning on both contracts, and a read between the lines suggesting both Saudi Arabia and Russia feel Brent is approaching is pricing sweet spot at these levels; the danger could be a move lower from here into next week.

WTI Daily

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Jeffrey Halley

Jeffrey Halley

Senior Market Analyst, Asia Pacific, from 2016 to August 2022
With more than 30 years of FX experience – from spot/margin trading and NDFs through to currency options and futures – Jeffrey Halley was OANDA’s Senior Market Analyst for Asia Pacific, responsible for providing timely and relevant macro analysis covering a wide range of asset classes. He has previously worked with leading institutions such as Saxo Capital Markets, DynexCorp Currency Portfolio Management, IG, IFX, Fimat Internationale Banque, HSBC and Barclays. A highly sought-after analyst, Jeffrey has appeared on a wide range of global news channels including Bloomberg, BBC, Reuters, CNBC, MSN, Sky TV and Channel News Asia as well as in leading print publications such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, among others. He was born in New Zealand and holds an MBA from the Cass Business School.
Jeffrey Halley
Jeffrey Halley

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