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Despite intense pressure from the US administration in the weeks leading up to the decision, OPEC+ ultimately approved a production cut of 2 million barrels daily, which resulted in an increase in oil prices for the United States, a decrease for Europe, and more stable prices for Asia.

According to Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Advisor, the President is disappointed by the shortsighted decision by OPEC+ to cut production quotas and the Biden Administration will also consult with Congress on additional tools and authorities to reduce OPEC+'s control over energy prices. However, he didn’t mention that the Keystone XL pipeline cancellation and the suspension of new oil and gas leases on public lands made by the Biden administration gave OPEC+ the upper hand.

Sweet Revenge?

According to oilprice.com, the decision by OPEC+ was undoubtedly influenced by market fundamentals. Still, it was also perhaps a reaction to Biden's characterization of Saudi Arabia and its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), as "pariahs" for the murder of activist and supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, Jamal Khashoggi. Although it might have sounded good during the campaign, the crown prince cannot be overlooked in the relationship between America and the Kingdom.

Furthermore, OPEC+ was blamed for taking the Russian side. It was also forgotten that the Saudis worked hard to convince Russia, a significant oil producer, to join OPEC+ ensuring that its actions would comply with the group, which it finally did in 2016, and to prevent US companies from dominating the oil market—a reasonable move for an economic rival.

Demand Stalls

Other sources reported that OPEC reduced its forecast for demand growth this year by between 460,000 BPD and 2.64 million BPD on Wednesday, citing strong inflation and China's COVID-19 control measures' revival.

"The world economy has entered into a time of heightened uncertainty and rising challenges," OPEC said in its monthly report.

Moreover, the US Energy Department revised its domestic production and consumption forecasts. It now predicts only a 0.9% growth in consumption in 2023, down from an earlier prediction of a 1.7% increase. In addition, a 5.2% increase in crude production is predicted as opposed to the previously expected increase of 7.2%.

Medium-term Uptrend

The oil price has broken above the solid bearish trend line, implying further gains in the coming days. We might see higher prices if it trades above 85 USD. The target for bulls should be at the 200-day moving average, near 98 USD.

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has once again updated its annual questions on cryptocurrency holdings and associated gains.

Most notably, the authority tweaked the 2022 draft instructions for tax form 1040 to include non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and stablecoins, replacing the term “virtual currency” with “digital assets”.

In the newly released draft of the individual income tax return, the IRS clarified that digital assets are “any digital representations of value that are recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger or any similar technology. For example, digital assets include non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and virtual currencies, such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.”

The updated questionnaire states that taxpayers must disclose any kind of cryptocurrency acquisition including those received “as a reward, award, or payment for property or services” or “sold, exchanged, gifted, or otherwise disposed of a digital asset (or any financial interest in any digital asset).”

The IRS said it plans to make public criminal tax-evasion cases involving cryptocurrency, which opens a new front in the agency’s burgeoning scrutiny of the industry.

As described further in the petition, though taxpayers are required to report any associated profits and losses on their crypto dealings, the IRS’s experience “has demonstrated significant tax compliance deficiencies relating to cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.”

Based on its recent experiences with cryptocurrencies, the IRS believes that crypto transactions are not being properly reported on tax returns.  Among other reasons, the authority says there is no third-party reporting to the IRS on such transactions, and previous summonses served on other cryptocurrency dealers have revealed significant underreporting of such transactions.

Recently, there have been numerous reports emerging of tax authorities clamping down and going after cryptocurrency traders. The IRS also sent letters to taxpayers who might have failed to report income and pay the resulting tax from cryptocurrency transactions.

At the very core, the IRS still deems crypto assets to be property rather than currency for income tax purposes, the same as its regulatory guidance came out seven years ago. That means the authority will continue to tax crypto profits and losses like those for stocks, at capital gains rates.

The IRS has also addressed how to track the fair market value, capital gains, and losses in the context of virtual currencies. When a transaction is facilitated by a cryptocurrency exchange, the value of the taxed deal is the amount that was recorded by the platform in US dollars. Further, the taxpayer’s buy/sell price will determine whether a gain or loss has occurred as well as its duration.

Traders who want to take their trading to a higher level can use Trading signals. Commonly, signals help to have better insight and make better trading decisions. They alert traders when an asset is to break in one or another direction.
However, not all traders make use of trading signals. So, to be helpful, let’s see what trading signals are and how to make the best use of them.

What Are Trading Signals?

A trading signal is software sending traders alerts when a certain event happens. They are mostly composed of two main components - the technical analysis indicators and the condition triggering the alert.
For instance, a trading signal could be set to trigger if an asset breaks through its 50-day moving average. Here, the technical indicator would be the 50-day moving average, whereas the condition triggering the alert would be the break of the 50-day moving average.

Trading signals accommodate to identify assets that based on the ongoing market situation are likely to increase in value in the short or long term. If your prediction and sentiment prompt you that the economy is heading in a positive direction, you can use trading signals to find assets that are likely to increase in value based on a guess.

The Reasons to Use Trading Signals

Using trading signals, it is possible to improve your trading drastically. By setting them to identify assets headed for a breakout you can get in early before they start rising in value.
Besides, they help to identify the best assets for trading in the short and long term. Another advantage is that trading signals keep you from overtrading. For this, it is enough to set your alerts for assets that you would otherwise be tempted to trade too often.

Finding Good Trading Signals

Trading signals are possible to find almost anywhere but pay attention to the fact that they are not created equal. Some work well, yet others prove to be not so useful. The best trading signals help to make consistent profits.
Looking for trading signals, try to find the ones that work best for you and your trading style. It is possible to benefit from only one signal, however, it is possible to have luck with a variety of signals.

Trading a Signal

Before the start, choose a trading signal you like. Also, it is advisable to follow the signal and see how it works. Your next step should be to open a demo account and start executing trades using the parameters you are going to use on a real account. This way you will have a feel for how the signal works. Besides, after starting trading with a signal, keep a trading journal to track the performance of the signal and see how it works.

Find the Right Signal for You

Trading signals are numerous and all of them can be used in trading. Yet, it is essential to find the right signal for you. Pay attention to the fact, that some signals turn out to be better for short-term trading, whereas others are good for longer-term trading. Your priority is to find a signal that works well with your style and that you can use to make more profitable trades.

Copy trading enables new traders to follow and automatically copy the trades of more experienced traders. It is often referred to as “master traders” or “top traders”.

These top traders have a proven track record of making money trading and they are eager to share their strategy with other traders. This way, they can copy the trades and benefit from the outcome. For this, you only need to open an account on a copy trading platform and select the trader you want to follow.

Below are the top three reasons why traders start to copy trade.

You Don’t Need Experience

Many people do not start trading just out of fear of messing up everything. They are afraid to make a bad decision and lose money. With copy trading, you do not have these worries, and you certainly do not need years of experience.

That’s a major plus because if you’re new to trading it can be hard to know where to invest your hard-earned money. The market can be quite misleading, as there are lots of markets and assets out there and it is often hard to know which investment will turn out to be profitable and which will fail. You might know about the best assets to buy, but you still need to know when it is more beneficial to buy them. The same is about selling. You can be worried that your assets can start dropping.

Copy trading is one of the easiest ways to use another trader's experience and expertise to your benefit. All you have to do is choose a trader who's getting good results, and who has proven to be able to make profitable trading decisions.

Saves Time On Research and Analysis

Many traders who get started don’t have the time or the skill to research the market properly. With copy trading, you don’t need to learn technical analysis or weigh up the pros and cons of different assets before you make a trade.

Top traders do their proper research, so you just need to follow the moves of a trader with experience and proof of success. This way, you will save a lot of time and nerves.

Builds Trader Confidence

Copy-trading helps beginner traders build confidence in their trading decisions. It is also a great way to learn more about the markets and learn to trade without undesirable risks. This way, you are more comfortable, and it is easier to build more confidence when you're trading.

On the contrary, it can be hard to have that confidence when you're a beginner trader. That’s natural because it’s easy to make mistakes, and panic-sell or optimistically make a wrong purchase. This is where copy trading can be of great benefit to you. Letting go of control and letting someone else make the decisions for you can really help you to stay calm and make good trading decisions.

Top traders have already done the hardest part and tested out a strategy. Now, all you have to do is put it into execution. Thus, you’re trading on a proven strategy. You don’t have to panic about whether the decision to buy or sell is good or not.

Conclusion

It is true that copy trading is a great way to get started trading without doing much research. However, it should be used as an opportunity to learn and grow as a trader. Trading volatile markets always hold risks, and there are no guarantees that you’ll make money. Copy trading is a shortcut that helps you make better decisions, learn meanwhile, and build much-needed trader confidence.

Only during the last few days, WTI oil plummeted below the critical 100 USD threshold, which can be described as a serious global economic depression. As Oil is considered one of the most sensitive assets investors chose to stay on the safe side and sell the cyclical commodity.

Russia Predicts an Inevitable Collapse

As oilprice.com mentions, Russian president Vladimir Putin states, that Europe will not be able to avoid catastrophic energy consequences, as long as the sanctions are in place.
"We know that the Europeans are trying to replace Russian energy resources. However, we expect the result of such actions to be an increase in gas prices on the spot market and an increase in the cost of energy resources for end consumers," these are Putin’s words from the meeting with senior officials.
Putin is sure, in time Europe will be the one to experience the impacts of the sanctions, even more than Russia itself (this is already partly true). Putin urges that the effects of the further use of sanctions will be catastrophic, and this is put mildly.

Recession Is Unavoidable

Based on numerous indicators, the US is already experiencing a recession. Moreover, energy and food prices show that many European countries will soon face the same fate. A recession usually results in a sharp decline in oil demand, which usually leads to lower prices.
"There's the technical part of the recession, but then there's the meaningful deterioration in consumption and employment," Sameer Samana, the Wells Fargo Investment Institute's senior global market strategist, expressed his concerns to Bloomberg. "The technical part is the first-half story, and the brunt of the unemployment and consumption is the second half," Samana explained.
Yet, in contrast to earlier anticipations, demand might not increase. Just like that, supply is not flourishing either. For instance, Saudi Arabia had to raise its prices for Asian consumers to record levels. When a fall in demand is anticipated for the products, sellers generally do not raise their prices.
Thus, Goldman Sachs’s assumption that oil might still reach 140 USD per barrel makes sense. Another anticipation from Damien Courvalin of Goldman is as follows, "140 USD is still the basic scenario because, unlike stocks, which are anticipatory assets, commodities need to answer for today's misaligned supply and demand."

Bearish Reversal?

For now, the price is below the uptrend line, which might be bearish. It is possible that oil will undergo a decline in the coming 200-day, at 94 USD.
However, if oil moves back above the uptrend line the price will possibly return to 120 USD.

It was strictly against the rules in school. But copying from someone more knowledgeable than you when you’re trading online isn’t only allowed, it’s encouraged.

With a flurry of available copy trading apps, and more traders joining, it’s easy to see that copy trading has become more and more popular over the past few years.

But how? For those who are unfamiliar with copy trading, here are a few reasons why copy trading is catching on.

Practice Smarter, Not Harder

First-time skydivers connect to a more experienced pro when they jump out of an airplane for the first time. New traders choose to copy trade for a very similar reason. It takes a lot of the risk out of the experience. It’s also an easy way to learn the ropes. All you have to do is follow a more experienced trader and copy their moves. By doing that you can potentially profit from their strategies, while also avoiding costly amateur blunders.

Learn Quickly and More Easily

To become a profitable trader you need to understand the markets, and how they move. That can take time, and not every trader can devote several hours every day to learning. By copy trading, traders who have more experience make trading decisions for you, until you’re able to develop your own strategies. The technology is smart, slick, and user-friendly, making copy trading a practical way of quickly learning how to trade.

Diversify Your Portfolio and Grow Your Returns

Traders use copy trading to venture out into new markets by following and copying from traders with more experience in those markets. By broadening their trading horizons even more experienced traders can learn by copy trading. It’s a great way to diversify a trading portfolio without taking on a lot of risks. And as traders become more seasoned, they benefit through copy trading by sharing their trading successful strategies and growing their network.

How to Start Copy Trading

To start copy trading, you need to create an account with your chosen broker and download their copy trading app.
Once you’re logged in to the app, you can browse through the trader’s performance data and strategies, and choose one who has a good track record of consistent profits.
Once you’ve chosen your trader, you can set the amount you’re willing to invest. It's always a better idea to start with a small portion of your income and increase it as you become a more savvy trader.

Lastly, observe! Analyze what other traders are buying and selling. Both novice and seasoned traders can benefit by watching what other traders are doing.

Skilling is in constant development and tries to provide clients with access to top-moving instruments. The VIX index has been added to the broker’s offerings. VIX is a volatility index. It represents the relative strength of the S&P 500’s near-term price. It is a great tool to assess the market and detect opportunities in stocks.

HYCM made a new Mobile App with improved functionality as a new release of its proprietary mobile application HYCM Trader. The app includes integrated real-time support, available in 4 languages, and can be downloaded from the Google Play and Apple App Store.

Popular Social trading Broker eToro adding Stocks to be available for trading via eToro US entity. Traders can now diversify portfolio with investments in US stocks, ETFs, and Crypto via eToro Trading platform. While previously US entity only offered trading of Cryptocurrency acting as a CryptoExchange.

Read more about eToro Review.