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.
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
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.
