Brent crude oil prices began the training week on a low after the relief rally from last week scaled up prices towards the $100 per barrel mark. The Chinese central bank (PBoC) cuts rates to help boost the economy and reduce the blow from their long-standing property crisis and the impact of the zero COVID-19 policies on supply chains. Rate cuts, however, do not have the desired effect as consumers and businesses alike are hesitant to take on more/new debt.
Coinciding with the released Chinese data, the U.S dollar has gained support and is showing the market’s reluctance to write off the rate hikes from the Federal Reserve completely. Fed speakers favor more consistent and depressing inflationary numbers before easing off on interest rate hikes which could be a source of today’s dollar upside following last week’s stellar consumer sentiment report.
Brent crude might react to the dollar and external global macro events and find support as there are not many events to look forward to this week.