Crude oil update before stock report and FOMC

Commodities 5 minutes to read

Ole Hansen

Head of Commodity Strategy

Summary: Crude oil remains range-bound ahead of the Weekly Petroleum Status report at 14:30 GMT and the FOMC rate decision at 18:00 GMT. This time around, the latter event should prove more critical.

In the below tweet from last week we highlighted the four consecutive sell-offs the weekly stock report had triggered. This was due to the counter-seasonal rise in crude and product stocks.

However with the Federal Open Market Committee decision potentially being more important the market reaction to the report may end up being fairly muted. The FOMC decision is of a much bigger importance given its impact on the general level of risk appetite. The recent improvement in global risk sentiment will need a dovish FOMC to be sustained.

The market has during the past month gone from expecting 50 bps cut to 100 bps cut over the next 12 months as US economic data continues to weaken. The result, should the FOMC fail to support this view, could be some painful adjustments across markets with dollar and short-term bond yields rising while stocks could suffer. All of these would be non-supportive for oil.

Todays expectations:

Most recent developments:

Outrageous Predictions 2023: The War Economy

Billionaire coalition creates trillion-dollar Manhattan Project for energy
The constantly growing global need for energy drives the world's richest to huddle up and launch a R&D project in a size the world hasn't seen since the Manhattan Project gave the US the first atomic bomb.
Read article
French President Macron resigns
The political stalemate in France and the rise of Marie Le Pen following the 2022 elections corners President Macron, forcing him to give up on politics and resign from his position. At least for now.
Read article
Gold rockets to USD 3,000 as central banks fail on inflation mandate
As markets and central banks realise that the idea that inflation is transitory is wrong, and that prices will remain higher for longer, gold is sent through the roof, hitting a price tag of USD 3,000
Read article
EU Army forces EU down path to full union
With continued challenges in the region and a US military that isn't aggressively enacting its former role as global policeman, the European Union agrees to create its own armed forces, bringing the whole region closer.
Read article
A country agrees to ban all meat production by 2030
In an effort to become one of the global leaders on the path to net-zero emissions, one country decides to not only put a heavy tax on meat, but to ban domestic production entirely.
Read article
UK holds UnBrexit referendum
Following a recession and domestic pressure, the United Kingdom is thrown into political turmoil that will end with a vote to wind back Brexit.
Read article
Widespread price controls are introduced to cap official inflation
History tells us that with the war economy comes rationing and price controls. And this time is no different, as policymakers introduce strict price controls that lead to a range of unintended consequences.
Read article
OPEC+ & Chindia walk out of the IMF, agree to trade with new reserve asset
Sanctions against Russia have caused widespread turmoil due to US Dollar moves in countries across the globe that don't consider the US an ally. To relieve themselves from this, they leave the IMF and create a new reserve asset.
Read article
USDJPY fixed to the USD at 200 as Japan overhauls financial system
Following the challenges that faced the Japanese Yen in 2022, the Bank of Japan attempts to keep the currency from sliding. Unsuccessful on the long-term, Japan will launch a reset of its entire financial system.
Read article
Tax haven ban kills private equity
With the war economy comes an increased focus on national interests and sovereign nations' ability to assert themselves. In that regard, the OECD countries turn their attention on tax havens and pull the big guns out, banning them altogether.
Read article