市场资讯及洞察

石油市场习惯于在停止结算之前就看上去已经定下来了。这就是现在的设置。
随着伊朗周边冲突的加剧,霍尔木兹海峡的交通量急剧下降,越来越多的船只因关闭AIS或自动识别系统而陷入黑暗,这些信号通常显示船只在哪里移动。霍尔木兹不只是另一条航道。它是世界上最重要的能源阻塞点之一,因此,当能见度开始消失时,供应风险就会回到对话的中心。
为什么现在这很重要
这很重要,有两个原因。
头条新闻是一回事。市场影响是另一回事。石油不仅关乎有多少桶,还关系到这些桶能否流动,谁愿意为它们投保,买家准备等待多长时间,以及交易者认为他们需要在多大风险的基础上定价。
目前,有三件事同时发生冲突:航运中断、外交脆弱以及市场已经严重倾向于一个方向。这种组合可以使布伦特原油的走势比基本面本身通常所暗示的要快。
是什么推动了这一举动
1 供应能见度恶化
第一个驱动程序很简单。市场看得更少,这往往会让市场更加紧张。
通过霍尔木兹的过境量急剧下降,而越来越多的交通量涉及不再广播标准跟踪信号的船只。简而言之,正常通过重要走廊的船只越来越少,越来越多的活动也变得越来越难以追踪。这并不自动意味着供应即将崩溃。但这确实意味着不确定性正在上升。
2 伊朗的储存缓冲区可能有限
第二个驱动因素是伊朗的出口和储存限制。
陆上储存容量估计约为4000万桶,市场正在关注有人所说的16天红线。到那时,长期的出口中断可能会开始迫使减产,以避免对储油库造成损害。对于新读者来说,要点很简单。如果石油不能储存足够长的时间,问题可能不再是出口延迟,而是开始成为真正的供应问题。
3 定位可以放大移动
第三个驱动因素是定位,这只是市场简写,说明在下一步行动发生之前交易者已经如何进行设置。
在这种情况下,投机性原油头寸显得严重片面。这很重要,因为当市场向一个方向倾斜得太远时,触发急剧调整并不需要太多时间。新的地缘政治冲击可能迫使交易者迅速采取行动,而一旦开始,价格的上涨幅度可能会超过单纯基础新闻所能证明的合理性。
为什么市场在乎
石油冲击很少能在能源市场内得到控制。
较高的原油价格可能会开始出现在运费、制造业和家庭能源账单中。这意味着通货膨胀预期可能会再次开始攀升。各国央行已经在努力管理粘性通货膨胀和疲软增长之间的艰难平衡,因此石油价格上涨会使这项工作变得更加艰难。
这不仅仅是一个关于石油生产商获得提振的故事。当能源成本上升时,航空公司、运输公司和其他对燃料敏感的企业可能会迅速承受压力。如果石油价格上涨使通货膨胀保持强于预期,则更广泛的股市可能还必须重新考虑政策前景。
连锁反应远不止石油
还有一个货币角度,它不如最初出现的那么简单。
当原材料价格上涨时,与大宗商品挂钩的货币,例如澳元,通常会获得支撑。但是这种关系不是自动的。如果石油价格因为全球需求改善而攀升,那可能会有所帮助。如果由于地缘政治风险激增而攀升,则市场可能会转向避险模式,即使大宗商品价格上涨,这也可能打压澳元。
这就是让这种举动比乍一看更有趣的原因。同样的石油涨势可以支撑市场的一个部分,同时给另一部分带来压力。
框架中的资产和名称
布伦特原油仍然是广泛供应风险中最明显的解读。如果交易者想要最简洁的头条新闻表达,通常是他们首先看的地方。
- 埃克森美孚是画面中最明显的名字之一。油价上涨可以支撑已实现的销售价格和短期的盈利势头,尽管这从来都不像石油上涨、囤积那么简单。成本、生产结构和更广泛的情绪仍然很重要。
- NexTera Energy 又增加了一层。这个故事不仅仅是关于化石燃料的。当能源安全成为一个更大的问题时,国内电力弹性、电网投资和替代发电的理由也将得到加强。
- 澳元/美元是另一个值得关注的市场。澳大利亚与大宗商品周期密切相关,因此原材料价格走强有时可以支撑该货币。但是,如果市场对恐惧的反应大于对增长的反应,那么通常的顺风可能不会成立。
对于新读者来说,关键是石油走势不会以整齐的、可预测的线条在市场中传播。它们不均匀地向外波动,帮助某些资产,给其他资产施加压力,有时两者兼而有之。
可能会出什么问题
强烈的叙述与单向交易不同。
停火可以比预期更快地稳定航运。欧佩克+可以通过提高产量来抵消部分紧张局势。来自中国的需求数据可能会令人失望,将焦点转移到消费疲软而不是供应受限上。而且,如果地缘政治溢价消退,石油回落的速度可能比当前情绪所暗示的要快。
对于新读者来说,要点很简单。石油涨势可以是真实的,但不是永久性的。短期内,中断风险可能证明此举是合理的,然后如果这些风险缓解或需求疲软,则迅速逆转。
市场不再孤立地对石油进行定价。这是定价可见性、运输安全性以及供应中断蔓延到通货膨胀、货币和更广泛的风险情绪中的风险。
这就是为什么Hormuz很重要,即使对于从未自己交易过一桶原油的读者来说也是如此。


Global markets chopped about in Tuesday’s session with no key data released with traders seemingly waiting on the sidelines for US CPI and a slew of bank earnings later in the week. Gold – XAUUSD XAUUSD rallied in Tuesdays APAC session testing the 2040 USD an ounce resistance level before a sharp drop as Europe opened saw drop to a low of 2026. This will be a key level to watch for the gold bulls with 2040 now establishing itself as a cap to further price increase.
AUDUSD The Aussie dollar took a hit on mixed risk sentiment, reversing modest gains made in the APAC session on a surprise beat in building approvals and above-forecast retail sales. AUDUSD losing the 0.67 handle and holding around 2024 lows. Ahead today AUDUSD traders will a CPI reading to navigate, with Year on year inflation expected to drop to 4.4% from last months reading of 4.9%.
Crude Oil – USOUSD Crude oil pared some of Mondays’ steep losses with Mid-East tensions continuing stoking supply concerns. USOUSD continuing to trade in its 2024 range of 70 support to the downside and 74 resistance to the upside. Geopolitical events currently being the main driver of crudes price action.
Ahead today with have Aussie CPI in the APAC session and BOE Governor Bailey speaking in the UK session.

USD was ultimately flat in a choppy session on Thursday after hotter-than-expected US CPI data. The US Dollar Index (DXY) hitting briefly breeching the resistance at 102.63 to hit a high of 102.76. This proved to be another false breakout of this level with DXY gradually retracing for the rest of the session to unchanged levels.
JPY outperformed, after an initial spike higher in USDJPY above 146 after the CPI reading, the retracement was more profound in this pair with it ultimately trading just above the psychological 145 level. A report did hit the newswires that said the BoJ is considering lowering its price outlook for FY2024 to the middle 2% range, though with dovish BoJ expectations being priced in it didn’t deter the Yen bulls. Risk sensitive currencies GBP and AUD had a mixed reaction.
GBPUSD making gains ahead of the UK GDP reading today. AUDUSD posting losses despite better than expected trade data that seemed to be interpreted as more evidence of a slowing Aussie economy. Gold again tested the 2040 USD an ounce resistance before a spike in the USD post CPI saw a steep decline to a low of 2013.
Early in the APAC session the Gold bulls look keen to test this level again with XAUUSD rebounding to around 2035. This will be a key level to watch for Gold traders.


USD ultimately ended lower on Monday with the US Dollar Index (DXY) first testing the resistance at 102.57 to the upside before reversing course to test the support at 102 to the downside. A risk on equity markets and some dovish developments. Data saw the NY Fed Survey show lower than expected inflation expectations.
There was also a dovish call from Bank of America regarding the Feds holdings of US Treasuries along with what was seen as dovish comments from Fed members Bostic and Logan all weighing on the Greenback. JPY bounced back against the USD after its weak start to 2024. USDJPY falling from highs of 144.92 to lows of 143.67 before finding some support.
Possible positioning before todays Tokyo CPI figure and a fall in US yields seemingly the drivers. CHF also saw decent gains against the USD and EUR after a hotter than expected December Swiss CPI print where the year-on-year inflation rate rose to 1.7% against an expected 1.5% Crude Oil prices were a big mover with USOUSD dropping almost 3% as a result of sharp price cuts by top exporter Saudi Arabia stoked demand fears. There was also a reported rise in OPEC output offsetting any supply worries generated by the ongoing tension in the Middle East.
USOUSD finding support at the 70 USD a barrel support level for now, the next level lower to watch will be the major support at 67 USD a barrel.


The recovery in strength on the DXY has led to Gold reversing strongly from the all-time high of 2088 which was reached at the end of 2023. Last week, the US employment data was released stronger than expected with the Non-Farm employment change at 216K (Forecast: 168K), however, wage inflation remained unchanged at 0.4%. This set of data is likely to push back the anticipated timeline for potential Fed rate cuts, from March to May, which could see further upside potential for the DXY.
Gold is currently trading along the 2032 price level which coincides with the 50% Fibonacci retracement. If the DXY continues to climb, further downside can be expected for Gold. Look for the price to test the bullish trendline at the 2020 price level to signal further downside, with the next key support level at 2007.


Beats in US employment data ahead of today’s key Non-farm payroll figure saw the US Dollar Index eke out another gain after weakness in the APAC session reversed in the European session. DXY up for the 5 th straight day, having its longest winning streak since September and it’s best start to a year since 2005. DXY hit a high of 102.53, still being held from further gains by the resistance at 102.57, a level that could be under pressure in the US session if the NFP report mirrors the beats in the ADP figure and unemployment claims released on Thursday.
The Euro was the G10 outperformer on Thursday with a spike in Eurozone yields after beats in French, German and Spanish PMI readings ahead of today’s Eurozone CPI figures. EURUSD continued its bounce off the psychological 1.09 support level, hitting a high of 1.0972 and keeping the upward trend channel intact that has been forming since October. With EZ CPI and NFP ahead today these will be key levels to keep an eye on.
JPY was the G10 underperformer with USDJPY rallying within a whisker of the big figure at 145, Yen also showing weakness against the EUR as both US and EZ yields rallied, increasing yield differentials against their Japanese counterparts.


USD saw weakness in Wednesday’s session with a risk on equity market and only a marginal move higher in yields weighing on the Greenback ahead of today’s key US CPI report. There was little in the way of major US data releases but some hawkish leaning comments late in the session from the Fed’s Williams stemmed losses. The US Dollar Index (DXY) did make another attempt to breach the 102.57 resistance, but for the 5 th time this year was again rejected, this will be a key level to watch over todays CPI report.
EUR moved higher with EURUSD heading into the APAC session at highs of around 1.0970. EUR was supported by comments from the ECB's De Guindos who warned the rapid pace of disinflation seen in 2023 is likely to slow down in 2024 and Schnabel who said it is too early to discuss rate cuts. JPY was the G10 underperformer after Japanese wage data came in much softer than expected, throwing cold water on expectations of the BOJ normalizing rates.
USDJPY following the US10Y-JP10Y rate differential higher and breaching the psychological 145 level. GBP also saw gains vs USD, taking advantage of a weaker USD and a risk-on session in equities. BoE Governor Bailey spoke in the UK session, pushing back on rate cut expectations while stressing the importance of returning inflation to target.
Ahead today the much-awaited US CPI report which will shape market expectations of the Feds next move and should get FX markets moving.
