Skip to content

CFDs are complex financial instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. CFDs are complex financial instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Gold briefly tops $1,700, oil crashes

OPEC+ undone, Saudi slashes prices, and oil prices plunge.

Oil Source: Bloomberg

Gold Technical analysis, overview, strategies, and levels

It was another volatile week for gold prices, more than aiding conformist breakout strategies as central bank decisions of interest rate cuts combined with further easing expectations and a plummet in yields on coronavirus fears aiding the non-yielding precious metal in finishing higher and undoing the week before’s losses. Large moves in either direction will likely continue to test key pivot points.

Gold Technical Indicators Source: IG charts

IG client* and CoT sentiment for Gold

As for sentiment, retail long bias has dropped from an extreme long 77% to a heavy long 67% as longs get enticed into taking profit, and the latest figures from the CoT (Commitment of Traders) report shows larger speculative traders reducing long positions by 23,166 lots and shorts by 7,034, and in percentage terms taking extreme long bias a notch higher to 89%.

Gold sentiment Source: IG charts

Gold chart with retail and institutional sentiment

Gold Source: IG charts

Silver Technical analysis, overview, strategies, and levels

Silver prices while finishing higher failed to outperform compared to gold, and failed to undo the losses suffered the week before despite weakness in the US dollar. The gold/silver ratio marched higher towards 99, while silver prices briefly broke below both its 200-week and 50-week moving averages, the two on the verge of crossing each other as seen on the weekly price chart. Overall, conformist volatility strategies outperformed as its price went past last week’s Weekly 1st Resistance level.

Silver Technical Indicators Source: IG charts

IG client* and CoT sentiment for Silver

In sentiment, retail bias remains in extreme long territory and unchanged since the start of last week at 93%, while CoT bias has dropped by 6% to a heavy long 71% on a reduction in long positions by 24,920 lots and an increase in shorts by 1,570 lots.

Silver sentiment Source: IG charts

Silver chart with retail and institutional sentiment

Silver Source: IG charts

Oil WTI Technical analysis, overview, strategies, and levels

It was already a tough atmosphere for oil prices with the current coronavirus storm hitting demand, which then went from bad to worse as OPEC+ failed to agree to a reduction in output, with Russia going further to say that it may increase April’s output once the current agreement ends in a few weeks. That sent oil prices plummeting over 10% on Friday alone, and aiding its weekly (and daily) volatile technical overview that has seen conformist breakout strategies outperform. With Saudi Arabia slashing prices, any further updates could keep the energy commodity volatile.

Learn more about oil trading.

Oil Technical Indicators Source: IG charts

IG client* and CoT sentiment for Oil WTI

In sentiment, retail bias has risen further into extreme long territory now standing at 86%, the bulk of those longs initiated above current market price. As for larger speculative traders according to the latest CoT report, their long bias (in light sweet crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange) has dropped by 5% to a heavy long 76% on an increase in short positions by 48,203 lots outdoing a smaller increase in long positions by 5,106 lots.

Oil sentiment Source: IG charts

Oil WTI chart with retail and institutional sentiment

Oil Source: IG charts

*The percentage of IG client accounts with positions in this market that are currently long or short. Calculated to the nearest 1%, as of today morning 8am.

Be sure to request IG’s Weekly & Daily Market Report when you open an account with IG Dubai and get access to the full information on the FX majors, commodities, indices, and Bitcoin.


This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients.
CFDs are a leveraged products. CFD trading may not be suitable for everyone and can result in losses that exceed your initial deposit, so please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved.

Speculate on commodities

Trade commodity futures, as well as 27 commodity markets with no fixed expiries.

  • Wide range of popular and niche metals, energies and softs
  • Spreads from 0.3 pts on Spot Gold, 2 pts on Spot Silver and 2.8 pts on Oil
  • View continuous charting, backdated for up to five years

Put learning into action

Try out what you’ve learned in this commodities strategy article risk-free in your demo account.

Ready to trade commodities?

Put the lessons in this article to use in a live account – upgrading is quick and simple.

  • Deal on our wide range of major and niche commodities
  • Protect your capital with risk management tools
  • Enjoy some of the best spreads on the market – Spot Gold from 0.3 points

Inspired to trade?

Put what you’ve learned in this article into practice. Log in to your account now.

Live prices on most popular markets

  • Forex
  • Shares
  • Indices

Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only. All shares prices are delayed by at least 15 mins.

Plan your trading week

Get the week’s market-moving news sent directly to your inbox every Friday. The Week Ahead gives you a full calendar of upcoming economic events, as well as commentary from our expert analysts on the key markets to watch.

For more info on how we might use your data, see our privacy notice and access policy and privacy webpage.

You might be interested in…

Find out what charges your trades could incur with our transparent fee structure.

Discover why so many clients choose us, and what makes us a world-leading provider of CFDs.

Stay on top of upcoming market-moving events with our customisable economic calendar.