Crude Oil tests the low side on Friday, WTI drops below $72 per barrel

Crude Oil markets are heading lower to close out the trading week.
WTI is testing into the low end, shedding the $72 handle.
US Crude oil is rebounding from a mid-week slump into $68.

Joshua Gibson FXStreet

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil bids are shifting into the low side on Friday, testing into the red with an afternoon plunge into $70.65 before recovering to just below $72.00.

Crude Oil markets continue to get knocked back and bullish momentum gets tangled up at familiar technical points. This week’s risk bid, sparked by a US Federal Reserve (Fed) admitting they’re likely looking at rate cuts next year, could only muscle WTI back into the week’s opening bids.

Topside gains remain limited as global oil demand continues to decline faster than the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) can clamp down on production. OPEC has announced additional supply constraints through the first quarter of 2024, but energy traders remain skeptical that OPEC can successfully choke down oil production to meet waffling demand.

OPEC currently cannot force its member states to adhere to self-imposed oil pumping caps, nor are there any mechanisms in place that allow OPEC to punish member states that flaunt barrel exporting quotas.

WTI Technical Outlook

WTI is holding steady near the week’s opening bids near $71.80, but bullish momentum sees bids capped to recoveries after WTI dipped into a five-month low at $67.97 on Wednesday.

US Crude Oil has rebounded nearly six percent from the week’s low bids, but is still down nearly ten percent from late November’s peaks at $79.62, and has shed over 23% from high-end bids just shy of $94.00 back in September.

WTI Daily Chart

WTI Technical Levels

WTI US OIL

Overview
Today last price	71.84
Today Daily Change	-0.21
Today Daily Change %	-0.29
Today daily open	72.05

Trends
Daily SMA20	73.92
Daily SMA50	78.79
Daily SMA100	81.7
Daily SMA200	77.62

Levels
Previous Daily High	72.73
Previous Daily Low	69.83
Previous Weekly High	75.13
Previous Weekly Low	69.01
Previous Monthly High	83.34
Previous Monthly Low	72.39
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	71.62
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	70.94
Daily Pivot Point S1	70.35
Daily Pivot Point S2	68.64
Daily Pivot Point S3	67.45
Daily Pivot Point R1	73.25
Daily Pivot Point R2	74.44
Daily Pivot Point R3	76.15

Author

Joshua Gibson

FXStreet

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

EUR/USD hovers around 1.1850 ahead of FOMC Minutes

EUR/USD stays on the back foot around 1.1850 in the European session on Wednesday, pressured by renewed US Dollar demand. Traders now look forward to the Minutes of the Fed's January monetary policy meeting for fresh signals on future rate cuts.

GBP/USD defends 1.3550 after UK inflation data

GBP/USD is holding above 1.3550 in Wednesday's European morning, little changed following the UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) data release. The UK inflation eased as expected in January, reaffirming bets for a March BoE interest rate cut, especially after Tuesday's weak employment report.

Gold retains bullish bias amid Fed rate cut bets, ahead of Fed Minutes

Gold sticks to modest intraday gains through the early European session, reversing a major part of the previous day's heavy losses of more than 2%, to the $4,843-4,842 region or a nearly two-week low. That said, the fundamental backdrop warrants caution for bulls ahead of the FOMC Minutes, which will look for more cues about the US Federal Reserve's rate-cut path.

Pi Network rally defies market pressure ahead of its first anniversary

Pi Network is trading above $0.1900 at press time on Wednesday, extending the weekly gains by nearly 8% so far. The steady recovery is supported by a short-term pause in mainnet migration, which reduces pressure on the PI token supply for Centralized Exchanges. The technical outlook focuses on the $0.1919 resistance as bullish momentum increases.

Mixed UK inflation data no gamechanger for the Bank of England

Food inflation plunged in January, but service sector price pressure is proving stickier. We continue to expect Bank of England rate cuts in March and June. The latest UK inflation read is a mixed bag for the Bank of England, but we doubt it drastically changes the odds of a March rate cut.

Top 3 Price Prediction: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple face downside risk as bears regain control

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple remain under pressure on Wednesday, with the broader trend still sideways. BTC is edging below $68,000, nearing the lower consolidating boundary, while ETH and XRP also declined slightly, approaching their key supports.