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Oil retreats as trade war fears continue, WTI back below 62/barrel

  • Oversupply in US crude stocks continuing to constrain prices.
  • Trade war angst is spooking commodity bulls.

Crude oil dropped Wednesday, as trade war fears shake out commodity bulls and government figures showed a surprise buildup in inventories earlier in the week. WTI has fallen back to 61.30/barrel and Brent crude is trading into 64.50/barrel.

With Trump's tariff plans continuing to spark fears about trade wars, and the departure of Gary Cohen as the president's top economic advisor, crude prices are feeling the crunch as risk appetite shrivels. 

EIA Crude Oil Stocks printed at 2.408M barrels versus the expected 2.723M barrel forecast, but the five million plus in API crude stocks is weighing heavily on oil prices.

Crude Technicals

Crude prices are continuing to price in lower highs, and support is beginning to weaken at the current level. Support for WTI is currently at 61.10 and 60.50 with resistance at 61.80 and 62.50. Brent intraday support is coming from 63.85 and 63.20, while resistance is priced in from 64.85 to 65.75.

Author

Joshua Gibson

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.

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