WTI slumps to $55 area on demand concerns, rising US crude oil stocks
|- EIA reports an increase of 1.6 million barrels in US crude oil stocks.
- Disappointing data from China and Germany revive global growth concerns.
- WTI retraces a large portion of Tuesday's rebound.
Crude oil prices gained traction after Trump administration announced its decision to delay tariffs on some Chinese imports on Tuesday and the barrel of West Texas Intermediate gained 3.55% to close the day a little below the $57 mark.
Growth fears weigh on WTI
However, following the disappointing retail sales and industrial production data from China and dismal growth data from Germany, concerns over a dismal global economic growth and energy demand outlook weighed on crude oil prices.
The WTI steadily erased Tuesday's gains and met a fresh selling pressure after the weekly data published by the US Energy Information Administration showed that crude oil stocks in the US increased by 1.6 million barrels in the week ending August 9 compared to market expectation for a draw of 2.8 million barrels. At the moment, the WTI is trading at $55, losing 2.8% on a daily basis.
On Tuesday, Kuwait's Oil Minister Khaled al-Fadhel said that Kuwait was fully committed to implementing an agreement between oil-exporting countries to cut production in order to support crude prices. Markets will be looking to see how OPEC+ reacts if demand concerns continue to push prices lower.
Technical levels to watch for
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