Oil prices trade broadly sideways on Monday, erasing gains from the early Asian session. Markets are pushing equities and commodities higher after the soft PCE inflation release. The US Dollar Index trades flat close to a two-year high. Crude Oil prices consolidate on Monday, with WTI hovering above $69, with some room to the upside as market sentiment improves helped by a broad tailwind coming from Asian equities.
The improvement in markets’ mood came after Friday’s US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation data opened the door again to two or more rate cuts in 2025 from the Federal Reserve. This is an ideal driver for more risk-on, where equities and commodities can thrive. The US Dollar Index (DXY) – which measures the performance of the US Dollar (USD) against a basket of currencies – is rather flat, not breaking any puts ahead of the Chicago Fed National Activity Index for November and the Consumer Confidence release for December. With the risk on undertone in markets, the US Dollar is expected to remain rather flat. Traders will want to keep any positioning short as movements could be short-lived and face some quick profit-taking ahead of the Christmas holiday. At the time of writing, Crude Oil (WTI) trades at $69.76 and Brent Crude at $72.94. Oil news and market movers: Headlines reduced The amount of Crude Oil held on tankers that have been stationary for at least seven days rose to 70.20 million barrels as of December 20, Vortexa data show, Bloomberg reports. That is a 7% increase against last week. Recent EU sanctions on Russian Oil vessels are being circumvented via Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, Zerohedge published in a special report on Monday. President-elect Donald Trump lashed out at Panama during a rally over the weekend that the country charges exorbitant fees for passing via its key waterway, Bloomberg report