What’s next? – GOLD, OIL 28.03.17

GOLD
Gold prices edged down in Asian trade on Tuesday as investors received higher demand estimations from China after a report showed that gold imports rose by 50.8% in February.
China is one of gold’s main buyers and any news regarding demand usually has a big impact on bullion prices. Also, a weakening yuan is seen as an opportunity for higher gold demand.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for April delivery dropped 0.21 percent to trade at $1253.10 a troy ounce as of 06:20 GMT.
The yellow metal ended in green territory on Monday amid growing concerns over the Trump administration and its ability to convince and coordinate efforts with Congress.
Last Friday, Trump’s American Health Care Act (AHCA) was pulled after not enough votes were secured within the GOP, leaving the new government totally empty handed. The AHCA was meant to repeal and replace the so-called Obamacare, but some Republicans believed the new law was not hard enough and even described it as a “light” Obamacare version.
Gold prices moved higher over political uncertainty and concerns of investors regarding the future of other economic promises such as the tax reform or deregulation measures. Trumpcare was seen by investors as an example of the government’s power to push its new agenda.
Market sentiment was certainly affected by the news, although House Speaker Paul Ryan said the cancellation of the healthcare bill vote was not going to stop the tax reform initiative.

OIL
US prices moved higher in Asian hours on Tuesday, with market participants looked ahead of an industry report on the US crude stockpiles and as the International Energy Agency anticipated a larger demand of crude oil in Asia.
US West Texas Intermediate oil futures traded at $48.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 0.67 percent from its previous settlement. The international Brent crude oil futures soared by 0.59 percent to trade at $51.05 a barrel as of 05:45 GMT.
The American Petroleum Institute is set to release its weekly report on crude and refined products stockpiles, which will be followed by the official report of the US Energy Information Administration on Wednesday. API figures are usually taken as an anticipation of official data.
For the week ended on March 24, economists expected a 1.183 million barrels increase in crude inventories, while distillates and gasoline stockpiles were due to fall in 1.106 and 1.933 million barrels respectively.
Oil benchmarks came under pressure overnight as market players doubted that OPEC and non-OPEC countries will be able to agree on the extension of the so-called output freeze deal. Last weekend, ministers from both parts met in Kuwait to discuss the developments of the current agreement and made clear that a six month extension is still on the table.
The oil cartel and non-OPEC producers such as Russia agreed in November 2016 to reduce production levels by 1.8 million barrels per day in order to rebalance market forces. However, increasing US shale oil production has been threatening to detail OPEC-led efforts. According to the latest EIA report, US crude reserves stand at a record high of 533.1 million barrels.

Fort Financial Services