Oil markets unchanged in Asia

Oil climbs on OPEC+ deal

Oil prices spiked higher on Friday after OPEC+ finally reached an agreement to add just 500,000 barrels of production per day to markets in January. That was more than markets had hoped for, but less than they feared. OPEC+ will move to a monthly cycle in 2021 to review the production quotas, and this seems to have taken the wind out of the sails of oil on Friday. A monthly assessment implies itchy trigger fingers amongst OPEC+ members to increase production as soon as they can.

With Covid-19 vaccinations starting this week, and with a US stimulus deal apparently near, the OPEC+ news wasn’t enough to derail the oil rally, merely slow its ascent. The US Congress appears to be closing in a stimulus agreement, with a package worth USD908 billion package, which would mark a compromise between the positions of the Democrats and the Republicans.

Brent crude rose 0.70% to USD49.05 a barrel, having traded just shy of USD50.00 a barrel intra-day. WTI rose 1.05% to USD46.10 a barrel, trading as high as USD46.70 a barrel intra-session.

The narrowing contango on Brent crude futures, and its greater beta to a global recovery continues to see it outperform WTI, which appears to be suffering some US Covid-19 nerves. Brent crude has resistance at USD50.00 a barrel, with nearby support at USD48.60 a barrel and then the more-distant USD46.80 a barrel region. WTI has resistance at USD46.70 a barrel followed by USD48.60 a barrel. It has support at USD45.65 a barrel followed by a large gap to v44.00 a barrel.

Another day of strong rallies will leave both contracts’ relative strength indices (RSI) in very overbought territories. That is usually a sign that a downward correction is imminent. Although there is no sign that oil’s rally is in trouble in the bigger picture, that does not rule out the possibility of potentially gut-wrenching corrections along the way.

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

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

Latest posts by Jeffrey Halley (see all)