Oil sees gains evaporate with US session underway

Oil prices were moving higher this Tuesday as the energy complex this week is back in graces of investors and traders, though is erasing earlier gains and trades near flat at the US opening bell. Next to Crude Oil prices early uprising, Natural Gas prices were on a tear as well on Monday. With hurricane Adalia set to hit Florida and Georgia soon, oil distribution for the US southeast could get disrupted and have repercussions for the more northern states. 

As if that is not enough, the current slowdown in China’s recovery is giving OPEC enough reason to cut even more production into its next meeting on November 26. Some bullish forces are starting to build. Should this Tuesday’s numbers from the American Petroleum Institute print a bigger than expected drawdown, a perfect cocktail is present to see the Oil price for WTI rallying up to $84.

At the time of writing, Crude Oil (WTI) price trades at $80.42 per barrel and Brent Oil at $84.16

Oil news and market movers

• All eyes are on the American Petroleum Institute (API) numbers this week, due at 20:30 GMT. Last week there was a draw of -2.418M.
• Russian seaborne crude is jumping to an eight-week high in flow sizes. 
• This week Friday’s monthly US jobs report takes precedence over other indicators. After the US Federal Reserve repeated it stance at Jackson Hole for keeping rates higher for longer, any sudden slowdowns in the US jobs market could force the hand of the Fed to start easing market conditions by  cutting rates, which would mean a weaker Greenback as a side effect. 
• Hurricane Adalia is making its way to Florida and is about to hit the peninsula by 8 AM this Tuesday. The production and supply for the Eastern part of the United States could come under pressure and might see Oil prices shooting higher as less supply will be available in a brief period. 
• The sluggish Chinese economy is helping OPEC+ to start thinking about more production cuts in order to keep Oil prices afloat at current levels. The next meeting is still quite far away though on November 26. Meanwhile, rumours and speculation will start to build up toward that date. 
• Some cargoes of Russian crude for October were offered at a lesser discount to the ICE Brent price between Russia and China.
• Saudi Arabia is considering extending its production cut for longer, which could limit the supply side in oil in the coming days. 
• Equity markets are rallying for a second straight day this week and are helping demand for commodities overall. 

Oil Technical Analysis: off the weekly high

The Oil price is pushing firmly higher now and could be entering a bull run phase. Line in the sand will be the red descending trend line, currently at $80.55. Should the black gold be able to close above that red descnend trend line, expect that to be a clear bullish signal and could point to more bullish moves in the coming days. 

On the upside, $81.68, Monday’s high, is the one to beat in order to trigger a small uptrend. Should WTI continue to rally and break that red descending trendline, more new highs will come into play. In order to print a fresh monthly high, the peak of mid-August at $84.32 is the target when demand takes over and supply cannot follow suit. 

On the downside, a temporary bottom is being formed around $77.50 and acts as a base for this week. Should the Baker Hughes Rig Count jump substantially higher, expect to see the floor tested as more supply is bound to come online. Once bears make it through that orange box level, expect to see more downside toward $74 before finding ample support to slow down the sell-off. 

WTI US OIL (Daily Chart)