As previewed earlier this morning, when the flurry of leaks began, today OPEC reached a deal with non-OPEC partners to extend the oil production cuts until end of 2018 (recall these were supposed to be "temporary" when originally unveiled one year ago) at their meeting in Vienna, as part of producers' strategy to reduce global inventory levels. Below is a summary, via Bloomberg, of the key items agreed on:
For the second day in a row, precious metals are being pounded as gold joins silver back below its 200-day moving-average...
Knocking gold back to 3-week lows...
All of which is odd given the chaos in the dollar... Two days of collapse in gold as the dollar goes nowhere...
And Treasury yields are surging - woith 5Y back at its highest since April 2011...
The Fed is the Market, Until Someone Bigger Comes Along..
UPDATE:This editorial was written 3 days ago in reaction to reading the Zerohedge post As Bitcoin Nears $10,000 "Central Banks Kept Up At Night"
by Vince Lanci
“Free markets for free men”- patch worn on the Nymex floor during Iraqi war.
Following the backing of Sen. John McCain on the GOP tax reform bill, markets have surged to new all time highs as tax-sensitive banks lead the way, with Bloomberg reporting that odds for the tax bill's passage may increase to "near-certainty" if the Senate can finish its version in the days ahead, citing Evercore ISI. And speaking of banks, the KBW bank index is up over 1.3% to the highest since Oct. 2007, outpacing the S&P 500’s 0.7 percent gain.
Both WTI and RBOB prices are tumbling this morning after OPEC member agree to limit oil output through the end of 2018. While this is bullishly longer-than-expected (6-9mo was expected), OPEC members now rely on Russia to agree to these terms, and it appears the market is questioning that. Furthermore, despite US shale output at record highs, Saudi officials are shrugging off any impact.