Oil traders have been flocking into the precious crude today as the U.S. dollar fell to a new yearly low against the euro.Oil prices have passed through the psychological $70 barrier, and continued to move higher, currently trading up $3.12 on the day to $71.14. Oil is not the only commodity that has been moving higher, as gold prices moved through the $1,000 mark for the first time since this past February.
For sure, gold's rise in today's market was the fuel that pushed oil prices higher. Gold typically rises as traders hedge against possible inflation, and the same is true for oil prices, so as one moves so will the other.
Whether or not today's gains are able to extend through the remainder of the week remains to be seen.
Investors will be keeping a close eye on this week's inventory report, which will be released Thursday instead of Wednesday due to the labor day holiday, and also looking for any sort of surprise from OPEC, which is meeting this week in Vienna.
Most analysts agree that OPEC is not going to make any output changes, and keep its official target price at $70 a barrel. Should the group surprise the market by announcing output changes, then oil will definitely be making some big moves, but no one is expecting much from OPEC this time around.
Today's rise is the biggest one day gain for oil since July.
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