CRUDE OIL PRICE SLIPS AS EU STRUGGLES TO BAN RUSSIAN OIL

European stocks and American futures made an uneasy recovery after the recent slump. In Germany, France, and Italy, the benchmark indices rose by more than 0.80%. The Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones futures have also risen by close to 1% as investors price in the bottom and wait for the upcoming US inflation numbers. Equities received a boost after Pfizer announced that it will spend over $11 billion to acquire Biohaven Pharmaceuticals. The company develops drugs for neurological disorders and migraine management.

The price of crude oil retreated slightly after the European Union abandoned plans to ban Russian oil. The bloc postponed calls as they faced some opposition from countries like Hungary and Czech Republic. The two countries warned that getting rid of Russia’s oil would lead to more economic challenges. There are also concerns about how the process would work considering that they have invested billions of dollars in building new infrastructure. In a separate statement, ministers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates warned that spare capacity was falling in all energy sectors like oil, coal, and natural gas.

The euro remained in a tight range even after the positive economic numbers by the ZEW Institute. In a report, the agency said that investors were less pessimistic about the German economy even as concerns remained. The report showed that expectations of the economy over the next six months was -34.3 in May, which was better than the previous -41. The sentiment of the current conditions declined to -36.5. The biggest concern by investors, businesses, and consumers is that inflation is at elevated levels. Elsewhere, in Norway inflation surged to 5.4% while in Australia, retail sales rose to 1.2%.

EURUSD

The EURUSD pair moved sideways after the better sentiment data from Germany. The pair is trading at 1.0565, where it has been in the past few days. It is stuck at the middle line of the Bollinger Bands and is also along the 25-day moving averages. The Relative Strength Index has remained at the neutral level while the Chaikin oscillator is rising. The pair will likely remain in this range ahead of the latest US inflation data.

XBRUSD

The XBRUSD pair has been in a strong downward trend in the past few days. The pair moved to a low of 104.50, which was lower than last week’s high of 114.10. It is now hovering along the descending trendline shown in orange. The Stochastic Oscillator has moved above the oversold level while the DeMarker has dropped. Therefore, the pair will likely keep falling ahead of the upcoming US inventory numbers.

ETHUSD

The ETHUSD pair rose to a high of 2,402, which is slightly above the intraday low of 2,200. It has moved slightly below the envelopes indicator. At the same time, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has moved slightly above the oversold level. The MACD has moved slightly below the neutral level. Therefore, the pair will likely resume the downward trend since this is likely a dead cat bounce.