Brief Energy: Petrochina Breakout and Laggard Play and more

In this briefing:

1. Petrochina Breakout and Laggard Play
2. Weekly Oil Views: Crude Rallies on US-China Deal Optimism, Tightening Supply

1. Petrochina Breakout and Laggard Play

Petrochina Co Ltd H (857 HK) has remains suppressed but with oil perking up there is a laggard upside play taking shape as we begin to see distribution in HK upside leaders. On weakness we like positioning on the long side and can be used as a pair with an index short or one of the steel counters.

Given stock leaders are showing deteriorating upside momentum, we expect laggards to attract more attention.

RSI and MACD breakout patterns outlined as well as the price breakout at 5.10.

A bigger descending wedge also shows promise as a secondary breakout trigger.

MACD pattern resistance will help define the trending capability post breakout.

2. Weekly Oil Views: Crude Rallies on US-China Deal Optimism, Tightening Supply

There was no deal out of Beijing on Friday, but the markets appeared overjoyed at the news that the US and China had decided to continue their talks this week, in Washington.

Clearly, the “structural” issues that the US has with China are proving hard to work through (government subsidies for Chinese state-owned enterprises was reportedly one of the major stumbling blocks in last week’s talks). But the markets took the continuation of talks as a positive sign that the two sides are determined to find a resolution.

Could crude, which has been moving in lockstep with the global equity markets since October, be starting to reconnect with its fundamentals and pricing in the supply restraints and risks that have piled up over the recent months? There were signs pointing in that direction last week, as the rally in Brent and WTI to a three-month high at Friday’s settle surpassed the bounce in the stock markets.

We have also created a ready reference sheet of the various crude supply chokeholds across the world that have stacked up over the past few months, while the oil market remained fixated on the demand question. These supply restraints and risks are waiting in the wings as a potential bullish snowball, if and when oil demand worries are firmly pushed aside.