Financial Friday: Is oil out of gas?

Oil was one of the big winners in the first week of 2010, but will black gold give black returns in the future? We talk gold, currency pairs and headlines.(Commodities, Oil, Brian Woodward, Charlotte Rahlf, currency, US Dollar, USD, Yen, JPY, call option, Greece)

Headlines this week were driven predominantly by positive sentiment in the markets, especially in some commodities classes like oil and copper, which 2010 has gotten off to an optimistic start. Copper reached its highest price levels since late 2008 at around 7,600 dollars per ton and, particularly, oil made headlines with a 10-day consecutive rally after Christmas to reach 83 dollars per barrel.

A number of factors influence the price of oil at the moment, we discuss some of them with Jyske Markets analyst Charlotte Rahlf while looking at the short and long term prospects for oil. For a complete analysis, Jyske Markets has also recently produced this analysis and closed its buy recommendation on Brent crude that can be found here.

This week's Dynamic Duo takes a look at currency pairing and the USD/JPY option for the investor with a 12 month horizon.  More on both the potential and the risks with the USD/JPY currency call option can also be found here.

The Euro and the Dollar will remain in focus as important news on both sides of the Atlantic lies ahead in the coming week. On Wednesday, The US Fed´s view on the economy are expected when the Beige Book is released, and on Thursday the ECB holds its monetary policy meeting. More on the week's coming economic calendar can be seen here.

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