The price of crude oil rose in overnight trading even after a smaller decrease in the weekly oil stocks. Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose to $51.42 and $48.30, respectively. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the number of oil inventories fell by more than 562,000 barrels. That was a bigger increase than the 3.52 million barrels that analysts were expecting. It was also smaller than last week’s decrease of more than 3 million barrels. Earlier on, data by the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed that stocks rose by more than 2.7 million barrels.

The US dollar declined slightly during the American session after mixed economic data from the US. According to the American Bureau of Statistics, more than 808,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. That was the lowest increase in three weeks but is still higher than during the pre-pandemic periods. Further data showed that the country’s durable goods orders, personal spending, and personal income declined in November as the country continued to deal with the rising number of coronavirus cases.

The economic calendar will be relatively uneventful today since most markets will be closed for Christmas Eve. The only major data to watch will be Japan’s corporate services index. In Singapore, we will receive the latest industrial production data while Canada will release the building permit numbers. At the same time, traders will be watching for any progress on Brexit.

EUR/USD

The EUR/USD pair is trading at 1.2213, which is slightly higher than this week’s low of 1.2150. On the four-hour chart, the price is slightly above the ascending yellow trendline. It has also moved slightly above the 25-day and 15-day exponential moving averages while the signal and main lines of the MACD have moved below the neutral line. Therefore, the pair will likely continue rising today as bulls aim for the next resistance at 1.2250.

GBP/USD

The GBP/USD price rallied in overnight trading as traders remained optimistic about Brexit. It is trading at 1.3557, which is substantially higher than this week’s low of 1.3190. On the four-hour chart, the price has moved slightly above the 25-day and 15-day moving averages while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has started moving upwards. The Average True Range (ATR) has also started to fall in a sign of low volatility. For today, the path of least resistance for the pair is upwards.

XAU/USD

The XAU/USD pair is little changed today ahead of Christmas day. The pair is trading at 1,875, which is slightly higher than this week’s low of 1,858. On the four-hour chart, the price is along the middle line of the Bollinger bands and between the 50% and 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. The RSI has also started moving upwards. Therefore, the pair will possibly remain in this range today.