Oil and gold lose ground

Oil slips amid poor China data

One area where traders are paying attention to the Chinese data is clearly commodity markets, with crude off 2% on Monday. The figures from China really are a concern and the authorities have a big job on their hands arresting flagging domestic demand. That doesn’t bode well for oil demand especially when the country remains so committed to zero-Covid. And with cases continuing to rise, the downward pressure on oil prices could intensify.

Throw in a deal between the US and Iran and we may be able to wave goodbye to triple-digit oil prices for a while. Of course, it doesn’t matter how close the two are, a deal can never be assumed to be done until it’s signed. If it does get over the line, we could see oil slip below $90 and perhaps even stay there.

A technical reversal?

Gold has tried and failed again to sustainably break above $1,800 despite closing slightly above here on Friday. The yellow metal has slipped almost 1% so far today to trade back around $1,785 amid a strengthening dollar. This could just be a technical move, with the dollar seeing some support after pulling more than 4% off its highs. Similarly, it’s been a strong rebound in gold and $1,800 is looking like an increasingly significant barrier.

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