Oil falls below 100, gold pares gains

Oil slides amid Chinese restrictions

Oil is off around 3% on the day, with Brent back below USD 100 and hitting its lowest level in almost four weeks. There has been a big effort to alleviate the pressures in the oil market in recent weeks which has no doubt helped but it’s the lockdowns in China that are driving the latest declines.

The country’s zero-Covid policy is naturally having a dampening effect on demand which is aiding the rebalancing efforts. Of course, this is just a temporary demand hit so the upside risks to the price remain but it is offering some reprieve for now. How widespread the restrictions become and for how long will determine the sustainability and severity of the declines.

Gold pares gains after facing resistance once more

Gold is up a little on the day but has given back the bulk of its gains from earlier in the session. Once again the yellow metal has run into resistance around the same region it did a few weeks ago and a recovering dollar has also weighed on it around those levels.

If it can break beyond here – an impressive feat considering we’re still seeing yields rising – then USD 2,000 becomes the next big test. Whether it’s inflation fears or risk aversion driving the move, we’re certainly seeing gold coming back into favour. Not that it ever really fell out of favour, even as risk appetite returned and interest rate expectations were ramped up considerably.

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Craig Erlam

Craig Erlam

Former Senior Market Analyst, UK & EMEA at OANDA
Based in London, Craig Erlam joined OANDA in 2015 as a market analyst. With many years of experience as a financial market analyst and trader, he focuses on both fundamental and technical analysis while producing macroeconomic commentary.

His views have been published in the Financial Times, Reuters, The Telegraph and the International Business Times, and he also appears as a regular guest commentator on the BBC, Bloomberg TV, FOX Business and SKY News.

Craig holds a full membership to the Society of Technical Analysts and is recognised as a Certified Financial Technician by the International Federation of Technical Analysts.