Oil higher on falling stockpiles and Gold catches a safe-haven bid, Bitcoin awaits ETF ruling

• EIA Crude Oil Inventory Report expected at 11am EST. **Note API reported 4.4million draw last night.
• Fed’s rate path remains key for gold traders
• Bitcoin momentum capped on rising expectations BlackRock will get a US Bitcoin ETF approved

Oil 

Crude prices got a boost after the API report showed stockpiles declined by 4.4 million barrels per day. Energy traders are watching a tug-of-war between bullish bets that stem from expectations that OPEC+ will keep this market tight and as global recession fears grow.  Oil will struggle here if global economies continue to drag here. It seems the news flow is steadily turning to sluggish economic growth and that is bad news for the crude demand outlook. If the next week of economic data suggests the US economy is quickly slowing down, that might trigger a weaker dollar but also calls for a much weaker consumer.  

WTI crude looks like it might be stuck in a range a little longer until inventory trends become a little bit clearer.  

Gold

Gold prices are wavering as global central bank tightening is dragging down stocks.  Gold is starting to see some safe-haven flows despite a global bond market selloff as investors start to plan for medium term dollar weakness.  Gold looks like it might be able to stabilize above the $1900 level even if Wall Street starts to think that the September FOMC will be a live meeting.  Bearish dollar views are growing and that should become stronger once we next week’s inflation report. 

Bitcoin 

Bitcoin hovers around the $31,000 level as optimism grows that BlackRock will get their Bitcoin ETF done.  BlackRock CEO Larry Fink told Fox Business that “We do believe that if we can create more tokenization of assets and securities – that’s what bitcoin is – it could revolutionize finance.”  This is a major pivot from Fink and provides optimism that other crypto skeptics could change their tune in the near future.  

Bitcoin appears to be facing some price barriers ahead of the $32,000 level.  Bitcoin’s performance is gaining attention given some of the weakness that is emerging with global equities.  For the Bitcoin rally to continue, we will need to get a confirmation that the SEC will grant permission for a spot-Bitcoin ETF in the US. Bitcoin remains stuck in a range again, trading between $28,000 and $31,500. 

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