Oil steady, gold eyes FOMC

Oil steady after Chinese rumours fuel surge

Oil prices are relatively flat, trading with some caution on Wednesday after another decent move higher the day before. The prospect of fewer restrictions in China is certainly a good reason for the move on Tuesday, assuming of course there’s any actual truth or substance to it.

Broadly speaking though, it continues to trade around the middle of what appears to be the newly established range between $90 and $100, in the case of Brent. Should those rumours turn out to be well-founded and any changes significant, it will be interesting to see whether crude can test the upper end of this range.

Will the Fed disappoint gold bulls?

Trade has been choppy in gold over the last few weeks and I’m sure today’s Fed decision has contributed to that. Even a remotely dovish shift by the FOMC could trigger a relief rally in the yellow metal which could see it test last week’s highs, even $1,700. Of course, Powell may be in no mood to give anything away when there remains so much uncertainty so we shouldn’t be surprised if he keeps his cards close to his chest and disappoints gold bulls. Any indication that another 75bps is likely in December could see further pressure, maybe even $1,600 tested. That area has been a significant region of support in recent months.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar: www.marketpulse.com/economic-events/

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.