Crude oil price slips as Trump asks OPEC to relax

The price of crude oil declined sharply after Donald Trump weighed-in on the matter. In a tweet, the president asked OPEC to ‘relax and take it easy’ on the price of oil. This year, the price has moved up by double digits as investors cheer the announced supply cuts by OPEC. Investors are also hopeful that the ongoing trade talks will lead to a more robust global economy. However, there are still questions on what OPEC can do at this time since it too needs the price to move up. This is because to many OPEC countries, oil is the main source of income.

Global stocks rose today after Donald Trump moved to extend the March 1 deadline for imposing tariffs on China. In the past few weeks, he has been signaling that he will extend this deadline since the talks are complex and very far from being done. There are reports that the two countries are facing challenges on how to address key issues like on cyber-intrusion, which China rejects that it does. There is also the challenge of political pressure. Trump and Xi are both under pressure not to give in to a lot of demands. Another reason why US futures pointed to a higher open was that General Electric announced that it will sell its biopharma business to Danaher for $21 billion.

The Brexit debate continued in the United Kingdom as Theresa May was warned against her delay tactic. A number of business leaders said that the tactic is leading to uncertainty, which is not ideal for any business. This comes after a recent report said that the UK was not prepared for a no-deal Brexit. Meanwhile, European Commission president, Donald Tusk requested Theresa May to ask for an extension of the March 1 deadline. Experts believe that such an extension will lead to more uncertainty.

EUR/USD

After rising slightly earlier today, the EUR/USD pair gave up some of those gains. The pair is now trading at 1.1355, which is lower than the intraday high of 1.1367. On the hourly chart, the price is slightly above the 21-day and 42-day EMA. The pair is also on a 35-degree upward trend as the momentum indicator moves to below the 10- level mark. At this level, the pair could move in either direction, although the upward bias could prevail.

XTI/USD

After initially rising, the price of crude oil declined sharply after Donald Trump weighed-in on the issue. The price of XTI/USD declined to a low of 55.78, which is slightly above the 61.8% Fibonacci Retracement level. The price is also below the 21-day and 42-day EMAs even as the RSI dropped sharply to below the oversold level of 30. There is a likelihood that the pair will resume the upward trend because it is unlikely that OPEC will yield to Trump’s pleas.

GBP/USD

The GBP/USD pair rose today as traders weighed-in on the ongoing progress on Brexit. The pair reached an intraday high of 1.3095. On the four-hour chart, the pair is above the 21-day and 42-day EMAs while the RSI is relatively unmoved. The Parabolic SAR shows that the pair could continue the upward trend. However, since the March 29 deadline is getting closer, the price will likely be a bit volatile.