The latest weekly report from the US Energy Information Administration delivered what Saxo Bank head of commodities strategy Ole Hansen calls "a trifecta of bullish news" for crude with WTI surging to resistance at $63.15/barrel.
"Stocks are down, production is flat, and exports are surging," notes Hansen, adding that the rally in WTI brings prices to the 61.8% retracement of the January-February selloff. "If we break through this level, we can say that we have established a bottom," Hansen concludes.
Gold, meanwhile, has endured its worst week since early December on the back of a stronger USD and a hawkish federal Open Market Committee, but in Hansen's view the US rate hike calendar is not necessarily gold-negative given the metal's history of quick recoveries from rate rises.
"Expectations for four rather than three 2018 rate hikes are growing, but the hikes are not really the issue as far as gold is concerned; instead, it's the speed of the hikes," says Saxo's commodities head.
Crude oil exports, inventories, and production: