Oil rebound brief as gas spikes amid sabotage on Nord Stream pipelines
Oil prices rebounded on Tuesday but that proved to be only a brief correction as economic doom and gloom has driven them lower again this morning. With Brent trading only a little above $80 and WTI below, you have to wonder how much more OPEC+ will tolerate and the size of output cut they may be considering next week in light of the new economic outlook and price.
Gas prices have also been highly volatile in light of the latest developments on Nord Stream One and Two. While the latter was never likely to come online and the former unlikely as flows have been gradually reduced to zero over the course of the year, the apparent act of sabotage on both kills any hope of additional gas along those routes. The question for many is therefore what the sabotage sought to achieve, occurring around the inauguration of a pipeline that will deliver Norwegian gas to Poland.
Gold slipping again on a stronger dollar
Gold is falling again as yields rise and the dollar rallies once more on Wednesday. The yellow metal has been hammered by the repricing of interest rate expectations recently and is now threatening to break below $1,620, with support next appearing around $1,600. It’s now fallen more than 20% from its highs this year and could have further to go yet before we see peak inflation and rates priced into the market.