Crude Oil Rebounds but Near-term Outlook Remains Fragile
WTI crude oil rebounds to 71.6 in European session as buying interests emerge after price dipped below 70 earlier in the day. Brent crude approaches 74 after plunging to a 3-month low at 71.95. Despite the recovery, market sentiment remains weak as investors tend to seek shelter in safe-haven.
Comex Gold gives up some gains as risk assets recover. Yet gold in euro-terms stays a record high level. Silver recovers to 17.4 after sliding to 17.195, the lowest level since May 5. Current price level is modestly above Friday's close. PGMs remain under pressure after Friday's selloff with platinum and palladium losing -1.7% and -2.6% respectively.
Factory orders in Germany surprisingly jumped +2.8% m/m in April after surging +5% in the prior month. The market had anticipated a dip of -0.2%. The unexpected increase was driven by weakness in the euro which spurred exports.
Oil price may also have been boosted by BP's inability to contain oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the company, the containment cap had captured 16.6K barrels of oil during the period of June 3-6. It expects the volumes will rise in coming few days. Experts said the leak will at least continue until August.
US President Obama's administration ordered a ban on new deepwater permits and exploration by Royal Dutch Shell Plc in the Alaskan Arctic for 6 months. Oil production will not have much impact in the near-term but should inevitably affect long-term oil supply. Deutsche Bank said US output may be cut by 150K to 200K bpd next year.
The euro bounces to 1.197 after slumping to a 4-year low at 1.188 in Asian session. The press interprets it as a boost of confidence after the Hungarian government pledged to implement the fiscal consolidation measures. News also states that the government is considering a special tax on local banks so as to increase the government's revenue. Yet, we believe this is more of a technical rebound.