• Oil price slips for a second day in a row this week. 
• Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backs US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s ceasefire proposal.   
• The US Dollar Index eases further as markets embrace a soft landing for the US economy. 

Oil retreats for a third consecutive session as tail risks for the commodity ease further. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed he supports the ceasefire proposal US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has put forward, according to a report from Bloomberg. Even though Hamas still has to have its say about the agreement, the news means a substantial easing in tensions in the MIddle East, avoiding for now any supply disruptions from the region. Meanwhile, traders are adding the US to the list of countries that see sluggish demand for Oil after China was top of the list already earlier with economic activity easing further.  

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar against six major currencies, is easing as well on the back of that assumption that the US economic growth is softening. Markets first feared a recession, though they now seem to embrace the narrative again of a soft landing for the US economy. This narrative, however, hinges on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, with markets hoping he will confirm on Friday at the Jackson Hole Symposium that they have got it right this time.