Macro: Sandcastle economics
Invest wisely in Q3 2024: Discover SaxoStrats' insights on navigating a stable yet fragile global economy.
Head of Commodity Strategy
Summary: Crude oil prices trade lower for a second day with traders reducing exposure for fear that a sudden banking crisis started by last week’s collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank will spread to the wider economy and trigger a recession, and with that reduced demand for crude oil and fuel products. So far, however the selling has mostly been driven by speculative long liquidation and not yet a notable change in an otherwise supportive demand outlook, driven by non-OECD countries like China and India.
Today's Saxo Market Call podcast
Global Market Quick Take: Europe
Equity market bounce as mean reversion kicks in
FX Update: USD path now depends more on financial conditions than Fed
Crude oil prices trade lower for a second day with traders reducing exposure for fear that a sudden banking crisis started by last week’s collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank will spread to the wider economy and trigger a recession, and with that reduced demand for crude oil and fuel products. With the US economy currently at the epicentre of these concerns, losses during the past week have been most profound in WTI and RBOB gasoline.
It highlights a widening demand outlook gab between Western nations and Asia, especially China which continues to recover from its extended lockdown period. In their latest oil market report OPEC lower its demand for forecast for OECD countries while raising its demand for non-OECD countries, including China and India. Overall, the group stuck with its call for global demand to rise by 2.3 million barrels a day this year to 101.9 million barrels a day. A projection that is being based on global growth of 2.6% this year, with China’s economy growing by 5.2% while the Eurozone and the US economies will be bumping along at much slower pace of 0.8% and 1.2% respectively.
The IEA which last month forecast a 2023 increase in oil demand of 2 million barrels a day will release its report on Wednesday.
With crude oil demand still expected to grow strongly, the short-term direction will likely be dictated by the general level of risk appetite and the signals being sent from the banking sector as well as yields and interest rate developments.
In addition, the market is also being challenged by long-liquidation from hedge funds who had been almost continuous buyers of Brent crude oil futures since late December. In the week to March 7, the net long reached a 17-month high at 298k lots (298 million barrel), driven by a belief in higher prices but also the curve structure which has remained in backwardation during months of sideways price action.
The backwardated curve structure provides a long investor with a monthly roll yield, currently around 50 cents, while a short position will be penalized by the same amount. It helps explain why the rangebound and calm market conditions up until now has forced a reduction in the gross short to a 12-year low at just 22k lots, thereby raising the long/short ratio to an elevated 14.5 longs per each short. A position mismatch that raises the risk of a correction should the fundamental and/or technical outlook suddenly change.
WTI meanwhile has due to the opposite curve structure, i.e. a prompt contango around 15 cents, seen a lower interest to buy and hold long positions. In the week to February 21, hedge funds held a 164k net long while the long/short ratio was much more benign at just 3.6.
Disclaimer
The Saxo Bank Group entities each provide execution-only service and access to Analysis permitting a person to view and/or use content available on or via the website. This content is not intended to and does not change or expand on the execution-only service. Such access and use are at all times subject to (i) The Terms of Use; (ii) Full Disclaimer; (iii) The Risk Warning; (iv) the Rules of Engagement and (v) Notices applying to Saxo News & Research and/or its content in addition (where relevant) to the terms governing the use of hyperlinks on the website of a member of the Saxo Bank Group by which access to Saxo News & Research is gained. Such content is therefore provided as no more than information. In particular no advice is intended to be provided or to be relied on as provided nor endorsed by any Saxo Bank Group entity; nor is it to be construed as solicitation or an incentive provided to subscribe for or sell or purchase any financial instrument. All trading or investments you make must be pursuant to your own unprompted and informed self-directed decision. As such no Saxo Bank Group entity will have or be liable for any losses that you may sustain as a result of any investment decision made in reliance on information which is available on Saxo News & Research or as a result of the use of the Saxo News & Research. Orders given and trades effected are deemed intended to be given or effected for the account of the customer with the Saxo Bank Group entity operating in the jurisdiction in which the customer resides and/or with whom the customer opened and maintains his/her trading account. Saxo News & Research does not contain (and should not be construed as containing) financial, investment, tax or trading advice or advice of any sort offered, recommended or endorsed by Saxo Bank Group and should not be construed as a record of our trading prices, or as an offer, incentive or solicitation for the subscription, sale or purchase in any financial instrument. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, would be considered as a marketing communication under relevant laws.
Please read our disclaimers:
- Notification on Non-Independent Investment Research (https://www.home.saxo/legal/niird/notification)
- Full disclaimer (https://www.home.saxo/en-gb/legal/disclaimer/saxo-disclaimer)