OPEC has once again tried to push oil markets back into action after its meeting today with global oil ministers. Saudi Arabia is making a big push, by looking to slash oil production by 1 million barrels a day to 6.6 million barrels for the month of August. This is certainly an aggressive move for a nation which has been losing cash reserves in the wake of recent sinking oil prices. The likelihood also is that other nations will be asked to follow suit that are OPEC members and Russia as well, which is keen to see a lift in oil prices in the long run. There is also the chance of an extraordinary meeting be called in the future if OPEC members decide it’s prudent in the wake of rapid price changes. However, the US is still ever increasing production of oil and looking to export, and it’s likely that under the Trump administration it will continue for as long as it can hold.

Oil prices on the charts have firmed up nicely on the back of all this bullish talk, but the question will be if it can beat the bullish trend which has been afflicting the markets as of late. If the bullish sentiment is to say I would expect resistance levels to be tested at 47.25 and 49.99 in the current market conditions. However, I would also be focused on the daily bearish trend line in play which could look to act as dynamic resistance in the current market. A rejection of this area would signal the bears need further fundamental changes before letting go. For now though, the real battle looks to be if oil can indeed push through the 47.25 barrier and take on the bears at the trend line.

Playing of the USD weakness and the risk sentiment in the market is gold as of late. I’ve been talking about this a lot recently, but that’s because it’s been quite bullish and happy to claw back some ground. That should be no surprise with the USD weakness, but economic data has also been assisting with US existing Home Sales dipping today to 5.52M (5.57M exp); showing there is some weakness out there in the US economic environment. Additionally, the so called Trump effect has not come to fruition like many had believed and so a number of traders and investors believe that that US economy will coast, and there is a risk on this basis with equity markets, as they have risen so high on the Trump effect.

For a volatile metal Gold has not been as active as normal, however when it comes to trending it has been very strong, and the trend is always your friend. Recently it has touched on resistance at 1258 and I would expect it to either reverse in this situation or look to break out further. If we do see a breakout a push to 1295 could be on the cards, but it would take something fundamental to change for it to crack through. If we do see a pullback support levels can be found at 1233 and 1207.