The WTI Crude Oil markets spent most of the day on Thursday falling, but it is simple consolidation that I'm looking at just below the $95 handle it has caught my attention. After all, the $95 level will be a large psychologically significant number based upon the whole number theory, and it also is a natural resting place when looking at the longer-term charts as there have been support and resistive moves in this general vicinity.
With all that being said there are a lot of moving parts of the market at the moment, not the least of which would've been the Thursday announcement by the European Central Bank that they were cutting rates, something the markets were not prepared to deal with. During the last several months, the European Union has been the perceived engine of growth that counterbalances the United States, giving the world something to think about in a positive light. The sudden and unexpected rate cut only suggests that there is weakness in Europe, and that of course affects the possibility of energy demand.
Nonfarm payroll
Don't forget that today is the nonfarm payroll announcement and as a result a lot of the traders that swing big positions in this market will not be involved. After all, this is essentially gambling when you put a position on at a time, and the liquidity is almost nil during the announcement. Keep in mind though, the jobs number out United States can suggest that there is little demand for power if there are few jobs added. On the other side of that equation though is that if few jobs are added, the Federal Reserve will not taper off of quantitative easing in their bond buyback program, and that of course should weaken the US dollar which could bring up the value of commodities. In other words, this is a real mess waiting to happen.
Because of this, I believe the stain of this market is probably the only wise decision that you can make it this moment, but I do recognize the fact that the market might have a natural proclivity to bounce from this area as it has been so important in the past.
