In the commodity market, oil is juggled by bulls and bears. Initially, crude futures increased as the US Gulf Coast is about to see a third storm in about a month, which will continue the disruptions in production. However, prices have suddenly dropped on concerns about the increasing number of new COVID cases and fresh oil supply from Libyan reserves, which are reopening after an eight-month blockade of crude exports. Both WTI and Brent have lost over 0.80% so far.
Gold can’t leverage its safe-haven status at the moment, maintaining its bearish tone in early trading. Investors are waiting for another speech from US Fed chief Jerome Powell to get clues about the central bank’s approach on inflation. Besides Powell, Fed officials, including Charles Evans, Lael Brainard, James Bullard, Raphael Bostic, Mary Daly, and John Williams will also deliver speeches later this week.
The decline in gold is capped by a weak US dollar, which also waits for the comments from Fed’s officials. The USD index is down 0.09% to 92.862, while EUR/USD is up 0.20% to 1.1860.
