• Oil price slips lower for a second consecutive trading day. 
• Prices retreat as traders focus on Chinese demand fears and efforts to get a ceasefire deal in Gaza.  
• The US Dollar Index eases further after hedge funds go long on the Japanese Yen, which appreciates against the Greenback. 

Oil retreats for a second consecutive session as some tail risks move to the forefront on Monday. Traders are fearing weaker demand again from Oil importer China, weighing on overall market sentiment. Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Middle East, where a successful outcome of Gaza ceasefire talks could reduce supply risks substantially, according to Reuters. With two major risk premium events being priced out, some more easing in Crude prices might be at hand. 

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar against six major currencies, is feeling the heat from the Japanese Yen. Markets got rattled on Friday after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reported that hedge funds were back to being net long on the Japanese Yen (JPY) for the first time since 2021. This weighed on the Greenback and spilled over into the DXY’s performance, which flirts with a break below 102 ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole Symposium later this week.