WTI: Bulls gathering pace for a test of September highs

Oil cheers strong US spending data, weaker USD and trade optimism.
September highs above $63 now on sight, as oil bulls consolidate.
Eyes on EIA US Crude Stocks and drilling data for fresh impulse.

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

WTI (oil futures on NYMEX) is posting small gains and remains within a striking distance of three-month tops renewed last hour at $61.97.

The black gold continues to benefit from upbeat fundamentals that have revived hopes for the bulls to conquer the September month highs of $63.38, reached after the Saudi Arabian oilfields were allegedly attacked by Iran.

Over the last few days, the barrel of WTI has derived support from a drop in the American Petroleum Institute (API) Crude Stocks, strong US online consumer spending data, US-China trade deal signing news and broad USD weakness.

The API data showed that the US crude inventories fell by 7.9 million barrels in the week to December 20 to 444.1 million barrels vs. expectations for a draw of 1.83 million barrels.

From a broader perspective, the prices are likely to remain buoyed by the OPEC+ supply cuts, despite the latest comments from the Russian Energy Minister Novak that Russia will need to raise oil output at some point.

The immediate focus now shifts towards the EIA Crude Stocks and Baker Hughes US Rigs Count data due later in the NA session for fresh trading impetus.

WTI Technical levels to consider

WTI

Overview
Today last price	61.88
Today Daily Change	0.13
Today Daily Change %	0.21
Today daily open	61.79

Trends
Daily SMA20	59.27
Daily SMA50	57.57
Daily SMA100	56.48
Daily SMA200	57.82

Levels
Previous Daily High	61.88
Previous Daily Low	61.12
Previous Weekly High	61.47
Previous Weekly Low	59.75
Previous Monthly High	58.76
Previous Monthly Low	54.12
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	61.59
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	61.41
Daily Pivot Point S1	61.31
Daily Pivot Point S2	60.84
Daily Pivot Point S3	60.55
Daily Pivot Point R1	62.07
Daily Pivot Point R2	62.36
Daily Pivot Point R3	62.83

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

AUD/USD climbs to four-month highs near 0.7230

AUD/USD keeps its bid tone well in place for yet another day, this time advancing to the 0.7220-0.7230 band to hit fresh four-month high on Monday. The persistent uptrend in the pair comes on the back of the resurgence of the bearish trend in the Greenback amid unabated tensions in the Middle East. Next on tap in Oz will be the Westpac’s Consumer Confidence index, housing data, and speeches by the RBA’s Hunter and Hauser

USD/JPY holds on just above 154.00

USD/JPY weakens further and remains close to the 154.00 neighbourhood, or seven-month lows, ahead of the opening bell in Asia. The pair’s severe retracement comes in response to rising bets of a rate hike by the BoJ at its next meeting coupled with repatriation speculation, while the offered stance in the Greenback adds to the overall bearish mood.

Gold bounces off lows, back above $4,400

Gold builds on Friday’s losses, although it manages to regain some composure and reclaim the $4,400 mark per troy ounce on Monday. The yellow metal’s decline follows the move lower in the Greenback and steady caution ahead of key US data releases toward the end of the week.

Bitcoin and Gold Outlook: BTC and XAU remain pressured amid sticky US-Iran tensions

Bitcoin (BTC) is correcting below $79,000 on Monday, mirroring the broader cryptocurrency market’s lethargic, bearish-shifting outlook. The Crypto King was rejected near $81,500 last Thursday, suggesting investor exhaustion. Meanwhile, Gold (XAU/USD) remains pressed against the near-term $4,400 support, as focus shifts to the upcoming United States (US) Consumer Price Index (CPI) data on Friday.

Strong US jobs, Middle East tensions and key inflation data ahead

Good morning all, hope you enjoyed your weekend. Markets are starting the week after Friday’s stronger-than-expected US jobs report, which increased expectations that the Fed could raise rates at its September meeting. However, US markets are closed today for the Labor Day holiday, so liquidity should be lower and we may see slower price action.

Diesel’s record $100 warning: The oil shock hiding in plain sight

The Oil market may look calmer than it did a few months ago, but diesel is sending a very different message. The US diesel crack spread, the premium of ultra-low sulphur diesel futures over WTI, recently surged above $100 per barrel for the first time, reaching an intraday record of just over $102.00.