WTI testing 2-week tops near 49.00, up nearly 2%

• Extends the upmove on US-China trade optimism and OPEC supply cuts.
• Will it sustain the bounce amid looming oversupply and global growth concerns?

WTI (oil futures on NYMEX) built onto the Asian bounce and regained the 49 handle in the European trading, in a bid to retest the two-week tops of 49.22 reached last Friday.

At the press time, the barrel of WTI trades near the 49 level, still up nearly 2% on the day. The rally in the black gold can be mainly attributed to the renewed optimism fuelled around the US-China trade resolution, as trade talks between the delegates from both the countries are likely to commence later on Monday.

Markets cheered the revival of the trade talks between the US and China that lifted the demand for the higher-yielding/ risk assets such as oil. Moreover, oil traders also derived support from the OPEC output cuts coming into force from this month. The cuts are aimed at reining in swelling supply, especially in the US.

However, it remains to be seen if the commodity can sustain the upside momentum, as record high output levels in the US, Saudi Arabia and Russia continue to dampen the investors' sentiment while ongoing concerns over the global economic slowdown could also keep the gains limited.

Next of relevance for the oil markets remains the US weekly crude stockpiles data due on the cards in the week ahead, which will help offer a fresh direction on the prices.

WTI Technical Levels