As a trader, I monitor all things markets and have likely traded all things markets at some point. This week, I dabbled in Crude Oil, trading a few times in the United States Oil Fund (USO). The positions were small and short-term in nature. Nothing out of the ordinary. But after watching Crude Oil futures tick by tick this week, I’m starting to feel sea-sick.
In sum, the price action has been borderline manic. Or perhaps a more friendly way to put it would be to say that the action has been “uncertain”.
Sure, the 4 to 5 percent high/low daily swings are a bit nutty, but prices have moved one or even two percent in a matter of minutes on multiple occasions. I saw a tweet earlier today that said “Let’s all pray for those that trade the outright price of Crude Oil”. The tweet was likely meant to be humorous, but it’s a sign of how crazy it has been this week.
The takeaway? This sort of volatility usually occurs before a big move. So be careful here if oversized on the long or short side, especially a holiday weekend. Trade safe.
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Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author, and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.
