Crude Oil Recovery Questionable As Supply Glut Story Remains Intact

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Talking Points

The precious metals rebounded strongly on Monday after initially suffering some substantial declines in Asian trading. Profit-taking on shorts may have offered an explanation behind part of the recovery, while a lackluster session for the greenback also likely lent some support.

Looking to the session ahead a light US economic docket begs the question of what could potentially reinvigorate the US Dollar bulls. Another soft session for the reserve currency could in turn leave gold and silver some breathing space.

Crude oil witnessed a similar bounce at the outset of the week as shorts likely took some chips off the table following last week’s steep declines. Yet in the absence of supportive fundamental news flow the prospect of a sustained advance for the commodity is questionable – especially when the supply side story remains negative.

Also in the energy space; natural gas plunged by over 4 percent for the session to the psychologically-significant $4 handle. The fourth straight day of declines for the commodity were likely tied to forecasts for milder US weather conditions – which stand to reduce heating demand. As the weather-related speculation continues natural gas could be in line for further volatility.

ECONOMIC EVENTS

Please refer to the DailyFX Economic Calendar for the events over the session ahead.

Market Movements (Mon 1 Dec, 2014, Close 5PM EST)

Energy

Open

High

Low

Close

$ Chg.

% Chg

US Oil

67.39

69.51

63.71

69.20

1.81

2.69%

UK Oil

71.19

73

67.52

72.81

1.62

2.28%

Natural Gas

4.166

4.166

3.923

4.00

(0.17)

-4.03%

Metals

Open

High

Low

Close

$ Chg.

% Chg

Gold

1,167.23

1,221.13

1,142.65

1,211.63

44.40

3.80%

Silver

15.46

16.77

14.00

16.43

0.97

6.27%

Palladium

805.6

810.8

789.9

805.3

(0.30)

-0.04%

Platinum

1,198.60

1,245.60

1,181.00

1,237.30

38.70

3.23%

Copper

2.85

2.92

2.78

2.90

0.05

1.86%

CRUDE OIL TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Crude oil has managed to reclaim some lost ground and close back above the 67.25 target offered in recent reports. Its rebound has left a Hammer formation in its wake, which awaits confirmation from a successive up-day. If received the pattern could herald a short-term corrective bounce. Yet the scope for a more sustained recovery within the context of a core downtrend is questionable.