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Crude Gains Stall For Second Day, Gold Possibly Weighed By CTA Selling

COMMODITIES
  • WTI front month is headed for US close trading lower, although it has recouped most of the earlier losses. Initial downside came from comments that Saudi Aramco is not abandoning capacity expansion plans.
  • In contrast, Saudi Aramco’s intensions to halt the expansion of its output capacity are being driven by the energy transition according to Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.
  • UKMTO reported an incident 40 nm south of Yemen’s Al Mukha, directed at the bulker Star Iris headed for Iran according to Kpler.
  • US oil production is set to rise in March to 9.716m b/d across the major shale plays, according to the EIA Drilling Productivity Report.
  • Observed crude oil shipments from the US Gulf to Europe are on track to reach 2.2mbpd in February, the highest level since 2016: Bloomberg.
  • WTI is -0.2% at $76.72, still watching resistance with $78.14 (Jan 30 high) next up after which lies a key $79.29 (Jan 29 high).
  • Brent is -0.4% at $81.85, with resistance at $82.86 (Jan 30 high) after which lies $84.17 (Jan 29 high).
  • Gold is -0.2% at $2019.59, off a low of $2012.01 for a quick breach of $2015.0 (Feb 5 low) but stopping short of $2001.9 (Jan 17 low). The yellow metal sees losses despite the USD index on net moving sideways, with TD Securities noting it is “being weighed down by CTA selling activity”.

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