December Crude Oil turned positive after early weakness following a bullish gasoline inventory figure. Crude supplies are growing but refineries are curtailing activity which is putting pressure on gasoline ending stocks. Consumers are not buying gasoline and refineries are adjusting activity to meet the demand. This is causing supplies to drop. Crude oil is being driven higher by speculation, higher equity markets and a lower Dollar.

The U.S. Dollar is under pressure again today. This market is currently at a 14-month low. The December Euro broke through the psychological 1.5000 area without much fanfare. Traders are being cautious to maintain order in the trade out of fear the European Central Bank may step in if the rally became too volatile. The December British Pound started out strong and rallied further following the release of better than expected news from the Bank of England minutes. The report showed that all members were behind the recent decision to maintain its current asset buyback program. Stronger equity and crude oil markets helped turnaround a short-term oversold December Canadian Dollar.

December Gold held a test of major support at $1043.00 and turned around to the upside as the Dollar weakened. The technical pattern suggests a sideways market with a bias to the upside. Gold is going to have to start making new all-time highs if the Dollar continues to drop to multi-month lows. Otherwise, a divergence will be created which could attract sellers to the gold market.

U.S. equity markets are surging today following better news from Wells Fargo Bank and Morgan Stanley. Traders kept pressure on stock indices in the pre-market in anticipation of bad news from these two banks regarding losses from bad loans. Stock indices rallied when the earnings news came out better than expected. Higher oil prices are also giving energy stocks a boost. Continue to look for higher markets as long as there is money on the sidelines and money mangers feel confident chasing stocks at current levels. The Fed Beige book comes out today at 1pm Central Time. This report should have an impact on this afternoon’s trade.

Treasury markets are feeling pressure today because of less demand for the lower yielding December Treasury Bonds and December Treasury Notes. Traders are driving up yields for bonds and notes in an effort to stay competitive with higher yielding stocks. Watch the Beige Book release today for clues as to whether the economy is recovering. This report usually moves the market. Trading could become more volatile if this report contains unexpected news.