Mixed early trading soon became a memory as the market once more looked to push northward and further retrace the recent losses. Though there can be no doubt that specs and algo’s were once more active from the long side there also appeared to be a hint of trade activity which bolstered the move, leading the price action to target a return beyond 20.00. This level was achieved by late morning with a sharp punch to 20.04, though the buyers may have been disappointed that it proved to be a short-lived effort with selling following in quickly after to send the price back a touch and sit in the region of 19.90. Trading remained calm as US specs stood aside through the early afternoon however another leg back down followed midway through the afternoon with a small amount of long liquidation meeting with so little buying that a 20-point fall ensued. By now the specs seemed disinterested in continuing their efforts and so the rest of the afternoon played out to the lower end of the range, eventually leading to a settlement at 19.65 . While a virtually unchanged close does little to help bulls or bears it does suggest in the context of todays action that a recovery beyond 20c may be hard to sustain at the present time, and that after recent high volatility some consolidation within the “19’s” may be the immediate route forward.
March’23 once again emerged positively with a sharp upward push on the opening, immediately moving the price back above $550.00 as specs looked to continue this week’s sharp recovery. Progress was maintained throughout the first couple of hours with the gains accruing at a decent pace to reach a $559.00 high before pausing against some light profit taking. Again, it was not just the flat price which showed strong with spreads buoyant as March/May’23 traded out to $26.30, while premiums were also showing strength once again with March/March’23 at $117.00, May/May’23 at $122.50 and Aug/Jul’23 at $120.00. Having topped out the market retreated with quick pace as the lack of any consumer interest meant that there was something of a vacuum with March’23 only grabbing some kind of foothold around $550.00. This area did hold through the early afternoon however another round of long liquidation from short term traders sent March’23 into negative ground, a remarkable turnaround which also led both spreads and premiums to be trading beneath last nights levels. There was no hint of recovery as the close approached and so a day which promised so much ended with March’23 valued at $544.00 and hopes of a return to December highs seeming unlikely.
