Oil Stable, Gold Shines

Oil

Oil prices are stable today after suffering significant losses as investors worried about the financial crisis's spillover impact. We are still not out of the woods, and it would be incorrect to state that the financial crisis, which started with the collapse of Silver Gate and SVB, has ended, which is why traders are likely to struggle to compute the demand equation for oil.

The OPEC summit, which is still a week away, is the most important event in terms of demand and supply for traders. So far, though, two big players, Saudi Arabia, and Russia have kept markets quiet by pledging to keep supplies under control.

Gold

The precious metal is undoubtedly the biggest beneficiary of the ongoing financial crisis, as it is on course to produce its highest weekly performance since November of last year. Gold traders understand that there are still many unknown occurrences that we do not know about, and gold is the ideal alternative for them to gain some hedging.

We feel that any correction in gold prices will continue to be an opportunity for traders and investors while keeping the Fed meeting next week in mind is vital. We believe the Fed will raise interest rates by 50 basis points, which many market participants have not factored in, and that this would heighten volatility in US stock markets. Increased volatility and uncertainty may cause traders to stampede for gold.