08:30am   Back in front of my charts this morning after a short break away — any trades I do have will be detailed below.

Market Update:

Stock markets on Monday closed mixed as traders can see choppy waters ahead. The UK has announced a definite date for the start of the Brexit process, U.S. investors are still not sure about the Federal Reserve’s intentions for interest rate “adjustments” for the rest of 2017 plus we have the earnings season starting soon which could provide some surprises.  Both main U.S. indices closed slightly down after a fairly volatile session although the overnight Asian session was more mixed with Chinese bourses closing positively but Japan and Australia finishing down overall.

European markets this morning are settling down now and are slightly lower on the day but there’s not much economic news to influence direction except for  a raft of RPI/CPI figures out of London in just over an hour.  Oil has been in the doldrums recently with over production being the main culprit with U.S. WTI Crude hitting a low of $47 this time last week but news of OPEC’s output cuts being more heavily policed this morning has given a boost to prices and WTI is now trading around the $49.30 level – just above it’s 200-day moving average, which is seen by many as a positive sign.

Gold could see some buying soon as equity markets take a breather from the bullish moves up they’ve seen lately, although my daily chart shows the price sitting right on the 200-day moving average while been very overbought, suggesting a move down in the short term.  Keep your eyes on that chart for some interesting trading opportunities in the next few days.

Trading Diary:

10:30am   There has been no opportunities so far this morning so I am taking this opportunity to have a cycle ride out in the sunshine.

12:35pm   Just entered a ‘long’ position on my Gold 15-min chart, it’s a Master-The-Trend Strategy-A set-up and my stop loss is a very reasonable 13 pips.

14:25pm   The Gold price has advanced well and I am happy with the profit so far, so I am now out of my position with a score of +99 pips. Off out now for a rather late lunch now and I am quite content to finish my trading for the day on that result.