It’s been quite the forgettable week and I don’t think today is going to be any more memorable.
Thanksgiving week is, more often than not, rather slow anyway but this week has been particularly so. It naturally doesn’t help when the economic calendar is so thin and central banks have their house in order, leaving little hope of any action in the final weeks of the year.
The result is that we’re left talking about the only subject that could shake things up in, what will otherwise be, a rather dull December. Clinging onto every tweet and Chinese media report, just in case there’s going to be one last bombshell of 2019. Let’s face it, a deal is hardly looking likely at this point.
Of course, people in the UK may be jealous that others can enjoy the festivities rather than dragging themselves to the voting booths when they’d rather be sipping on mulled wine or doing their Christmas shopping. Instead we’re spending late November/early December watching painful debates and the endless election coverage. Oh joy!
Gold still vulnerable despite dull week
Gold hasn’t escaped the dull week in the markets, having spent the week stumbling between $,1450 and $1,460. I would get too excited if I was a gold bull though as the outlook for the yellow metal hasn’t improved. It’s still looking vulnerable to further downside action, with a break below $1,440 potentially being the catalyst for another sell-off, at which point $1,400 becomes a key level of interest.
Oil steady after strong two months
Oil has had a steady week with bullish momentum appearing to drop in the process. This could be a symptom of the lower trading activity in the Thanksgiving week or a sign that it’s a little overextended to the upside, maybe even a bit of both. Encouraging trade war headlines earlier in the week did little to lift prices though. A correction would be understandable though after a stellar October and November.
Profit taking lifts bitcoin prices
It’s been a better week for bitcoin which has had quite a torrid November as Chinese authorities once again reminded us that they’re not particularly keen on cryptos. That’s not to say they’re not interested in the technology but are we really surprised that they don’t want to cede control? Either way, we have seen some profit taking which has lifted prices a little, I wouldn’t be too encouraged by this though. Tough times may lie ahead.
