Crude oil retreats after bullish swing loses steam, WTI back under 60/barrel

Crude oil is up softly in Asia, with WTI trading near 59.60 per barrel and Brent closing on 63.00 per barrel.

Crude is fighting an uphill battle, with the bullish move that started the week off from an almost two-month low being immediately blunted by the revelation that the Trump government plans to sell off one hundred million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Preserve by 2027 in order to help fund the government. The 100 million barrel selloff represents the single largest non-emergency selloff of strategic oil reserves in American history, and critics are decrying the move, accusing the elected government of using national emergency reserves as an ATM and liquidating a key safety net, undermining the entire purpose of having a national reserve. This comes on the back of US oil production already hitting a record high, pumping and processing more crude oil than ever recorded, flooding global markets and keeping prices for the fossil fuel abnormally low compared to levels desired by the other members of OPEC.

Crude Technicals

With continued downward pressure on oil prices, oil bulls will be hoping that support at 58.90 on WTI and 62.40 for Brent will be able to hold long enough for enough bids to gather at the current level; however, upwards swings in WTI will likely be capped with resistance building at 61.40 and 63.20, while Brent sees resistance sitting at 64.20 and 65.10. Failure to develop bullish momentum will see WTI testing support at 57.30 and Brent coming down to 59.20 before too long.