Crude oil prices edged higher alongside stocks in the wake of comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. He pushed back against recently swelling pessimism about US economic growth – buoying risk appetite – and offered a rather more balanced view of rate hike prospects than the overtly dovish disposition now prevailing in the financial markets. The latter bit triggered a steepening of the priced-in policy outlook implied in Fed Funds futures, sending bond yields and the US Dollar upward in tandem. Not surprisingly, that proved to be negative for gold prices, undermining the appeal of the marquee anti-fiat and ... (full story)