Oil and Gold Prices Rise Amid Unexpected Supply Drop, Middle East Tensions, and Rate Cut Hopes – Comments from Century Financial

• Crude Oil

Shell to Take Impairment Hit of Up to $2 Billion: Shell expects to book up to $2 billion in post-tax impairments after delaying construction of a major biofuels plant as European energy majors grapple with weak market conditions, while trading in its core gas division is set to fall on quarter.

Oil prices end higher on light trading volume as supply drops more than expected: Oil prices settled higher Wednesday, on light trading volume ahead of the Independence Day holiday, after official U.S. data revealed a drop of more than 12 million barrels in crude inventories and a weekly rise in implied gasoline demand.

U.S. Crude Oil Inventories Fall More Than Expected: Government data showed crude-oil inventories fell by 12.2 million barrels last week, much greater than the decline of 1.1 million barrels that analysts expected. Gasoline and distillate fuels fell too, as refineries raised their capacity use.

• Gulf Markets

The ADX General is declining slightly to 9,122.22 in Abu Dhabi. Emirates Telecommunications Group Co. PJSC contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 0.6%. Fujairah Cement Industries Co. had the largest drop, falling 1.3%.

The DFM General Index is rising 0.2% at 4,074.72 in Dubai. Dubai Electricity & Water Authority PJSC contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 0.9%. Dubai Islamic Insurance & Reinsurance Co. had the largest increase, rising 1.8%.

Oil traded near a two-month high as Hurricane Beryl portended a potentially worse storm season, while shrinking US crude stockpiles hinted at improved demand.

Brent crude traded around $87 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was below $84, with both benchmarks headed for a fourth weekly advance. The risk of Hurricane Beryl to production in the Gulf of Mexico has tapered, but its early appearance highlighted concerns of a “supercharged” season. Meanwhile, the biggest drop in US stockpiles in almost a year signalled tightening supplies.

Crude has been on a slow and steady grind higher since the beginning of June partly due to a positive outlook for demand over the northern hemisphere summer, with bullish, backwinded time spreads signalling healthy near-term consumption. Signs of softer demand in Asia have tempered that optimism and led Saudi Aramco to slash prices of its crude to the region for a second month.

• Gold

Today, gold rose by 0.4%, extending its streak of three consecutive quarterly gains. The rally has been driven by substantial central bank purchases, which are expected to continue through purchases from emerging countries. Additionally, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and renewed hopes for a rate cut have further boosted gold prices. On Friday, the U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls report for June is expected to show that the economy added 191,000 jobs, down from May’s 272,000. The unemployment rate is expected to remain steady at 4%, while average hourly earnings are projected to slow from 0.4% to 0.3% month-over-month.

Currently, gold is trading at $2,366.57. Its 14-day RSI of 63 indicates a bullish momentum. The yellow metal finds strong support at $2,350.12 and immediate resistance at $2,383.22.

Gold prices in the UAE today for the afternoon are as follows:
24 Carat – AED 286.25
22 Carat – AED 265.00
21 Carat – AED 256.50
18 Carat – AED 220.00

Last Updated on 6 months by News Desk 2