Brent crude oil is trading higher this Tuesday morning with a flurry of fundamental supportive factors in play.
Beginning with the USD, a hawkish Fed official (Bostic) hinted at further rate hikes and possibly the move back to 50bps increments. Unfortunately for the greenback, the Dollar Index (DXY) didn’t rally as expected, largely because today’s address by Fed Chair Jerome Powell will attract market attention.
Considering last week’s stellar Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) report, it will be interesting to see whether Mr. Powell reinforces an aggressive stance on monetary policy. The former could be detrimental to crude oil prices, negating recent upside gains.
Closing out the trading day, weekly API data will fall under the spotlight, and should recent higher stocks release again, crude oil may be under pressure once more.