Oil NEWS
Oil prints small uptick while Greenback eases
Oil trades around $78.00 after a failed attempt to snap above $80.00 on Friday. More criticism emerges globally towards Israel and its offensive into Gaza. The US Dollar Index steadies around 105.30 ahead of US CPI data later this week.
Latest Oil News
Oil Technical Overview
Fundamental Overview
Oil Big Picture
OIL BULLISH THEMES
OIL BEARISH THEMES
Latest Oil Analysis
Editors' picks
EUR/USD treads water around 1.0800 on weak Dollar
The mild pullback in the Greenback prompts EUR/USD to cling to its daily gains around the 1.0800 region as marlet participants shif their attention to upcoming US inflation data.
GBP/USD maintains its bid bias around 1.2560
GBP/USD keeps its auspicious start to the week well and sound and navigates the upper end of the range near 1.2560 on the back of the resumption of the selling bias in the US Dollar.
Japanese Yen eases amid uncertainty ahead of US data-packed week
The Japanese Yen drops further as investors remain uncertain about BoJ extending the policy normalization process. Japan’s economy is estimated to have contracted by 0.4% in the January-March period, exhibiting a weak start to the year. The US Dollar will dance to the tunes of the US consumer and producer inflation data.
Gold under selling pressure near $2,330
Gold prices remain on the back foot amidst some recovery in the Greenback and ahead of the release of US PPI and CPI later in the week, prompting XAU/USD to retest the $2,330 region per troy ounce.
Oil prints small uptick while Greenback eases
Oil trades around $78.00 after a failed attempt to snap above $80.00 on Friday. More criticism emerges globally towards Israel and its offensive into Gaza. The US Dollar Index steadies around 105.30 ahead of US CPI data later this week.
Majors
Cryptocurrencies
EUR/NOK & USD/NOK
About Oil
Oil Highlights
Crude oil is classified into various grades according to density (heavy vs light) and sulphur content (sour vs sweet). The lighter and sweeter the crude, the higher the price it can be sold, because refiners can produce higher yield of high quality refined products from it.
Density is measured by API gravity, a measure developed to compare the density of petroleum with water (API > 10 means the liquid floats on water) but is now widely used to compare among crude oils. API degree is inversely related to the density of crude oil. In general, crudes of API between 40-45 degrees can be sold at greatest commercial values.
Sulphur content determines the quality of a crude oil. This corrosive material decreases the purity of a crude oil. Therefore, a crude oil with high sulphur content (sour crude) should sell cheaper than one with low sulphur content (sweet crude). There are two main benchmarks for pricing Crude Oil: WTI (West Texas Intermediate) from USA and Brent from UK.
Major benchmarks
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is of very high quality. It has API gravity of 39.6 and sulphur content of 0.24% only. Its low density and low sulphur content gave it the name 'light, sweet crude' and enabled refiners to produce high yield of gasoline. Most WTI crude oil gets refined in the Midwest region of the country, with some more refined within the Gulf Coast region.
This type of crude oil is used as a benchmark in oil pricing and the underlying commodity of NYMEX's oil futures contracts. Due to its 'lightness' and 'sweetness', WTI crude is normally selling at about $1-$2/ barrel premium to Brent.
Brent is actually a blend of crude oil from 15 different oil fields the North Sea. It has API gravity of 38.3 degrees and sulphur content of around 0.37%. From these 2 parameters, we can see that Brent crude oil is heavier and less sweet than WTI crude. Brent is suitable for refinery of gasoline and middle distillates.
Brent was first traded on International Petroleum Exchange in London and then on Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) since 2005. Typically, price of Brent crude oil is around $1 lower than WTI. However, in 2007, due to the depletion of the North Sea Oil field, Brent Crude futures had traded at a premium to WTI of approximately $1 to $3 per barrel.
Oil and USD/CAD Correlation
Some of you may already be familiar with the special relationship between oil prices and the Canadian dollar. For those of you who aren't, let me fill you in on what you're missing!
There's a reason why Canadian dollar traders keep track of oil prices-- the two often move hand in hand. When oil prices move down, it's not uncommon to see the Loonie follow suit. Conversely, rising oil prices are usually accompanied by Loonie rallies. Why do these two share such a strong bond? It has a lot to do with Canada's economy.
Canada happens to be the world's seventh largest oil producer. In fact, it's the U.S.'s main supplier, as it sends about 2 million barrels of oil a day to its southern neighbor. Since Canadian dollars are needed to purchase and move oil across the border, the demand for oil tends to have a direct impact on USD/CAD price action.
It's interesting to see that aside from risk sentiment and fundamentals, oil also plays a big factor in Loonie price action. So the next time you think of trading USD/CAD, do yourself a big favor and take a peek at your oil charts. It could just give you critical insight to help you bag some Loonie pips!
Other important group of influent pairs includes: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, AUD/USD, USD/CHF and NZD/USD.