Gold, Crude Finish Week Higher Despite Rocky Two-Sided Trade

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil was one of the most active futures contracts last week. The market opened on Monday at $67.64, rallied to $70.89 by Wednesday then broke back to $67.79 on Friday before rebounding into the close.

From the opening, the futures contract traveled up $3.25 then down $3.10 from the high of the week. The catalyst behind the price action was two-sided news. The bullish news dealt with tightening supply. The bearish news was concerns over possible lower future demand.

For the week, November WTI crude oil settled at $68.77, up $1.22 or +1.81%.

Early in the week, traders were reacting to worries about tighter supply conditions once Washington’s sanctions against Iran’s crude oil exports kick in beginning in November, and stable U.S. production due to a flattening of the rig count last week.

At mid-week, WTI and Brent crude oil hit their highs for the week following the release of a bullish U.S. Energy Information Administration weekly inventories report.

Prices began to retreat on Thursday after the International Energy Agency that said global oil supply hit a record high in August despite lower production from Iran and Venezuela. According to the IEA, global oil supply grew by a record 100 million barrels per day (bpd) in August.

Oil prices pulled back early Friday amid concerns additional U.S. tariffs would be placed on China, leading to a potential drop in demand.

However, prices were able to rebound into the close on Friday after a report said Secretary of State Michael Pompeo was going to give a press conference on new sanctions on Iran.

Gold

Gold also posted a rocky two-sided trade last week. Early in the week, a weaker U.S. Dollar drove the market higher due to increased demand for dollar-denominated assets. Gold was also supported by the news that the U.S. had extended an invitation to China to renew trade talks.

December Comex Gold settled at $1201.10, up $0.70 or +0.06%,

Weaker-than-expected U.S. Producer Inflation and Consumer Inflation reports also drove traders into gold, however, gains were limited by rising U.S. Treasury yields ahead of a widely expected Fed rate hike later this week.

Finally, gold gave back most of its gains on Friday due to upbeat U.S. retail sales and consumer confidence reports. A report that President Trump told his aides to proceed with tariffs on about $200 billion worth of Chinese imports also rattled investors.