• Crude Oil retraces on Monday yet holds strong above the $67.00 support zone. 
• Geopolitical tensions ramp up further after intensified attacks in Lebanon over the weekend. 
• The US Dollar Index holds near yearly lows ahead of Fed Chairman Powell’s speech later on Monday. 

Crude Oil edges lower at the start of the week despite intensified attacks by Israel on Lebanon over the weekend. Overall, expectations are that Oil prices should get a lift this week, with Chinese measures boosting the demand for Oil in the region. On Sunday, additional measures were introduced by The People's Bank of China (PBoC) and the National Financial Regulatory Administration, with lower mortgage rates set to boost the housing sector. 

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the Greenback against six other currencies, gears up for a week full of economic indicators on manufacturing and services activity and employment, ending with the monthly US Nonfarm Payroll release on Friday, although geopolitical tensions are the main theme. Tensions have been building up in Lebanon, where Israel kept bombing several parts of the country and might see Iran starting to get involved in the conflict.