WTI continues to erase OPEC-inspired gains, inches closer to $58

OPEC+ announced decision to deepen output cuts by 500,000 barrels per day.
WTI rose to its highest level since mid-September near $60 last Friday.
Dismal Chinese data and the trade uncertainty weighs on crude oil prices on Monday.

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Crude oil prices gained traction on Friday after the OPEC and its allies (OPEC+) announced decision to deepen supply curbs by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.7 million bpd until March 2020. The barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed to its highest level since September 16 at $59.80 but struggled to extend the rally on Monday. As of writing, the WTI is trading at $58.40, losing more than 1% on a daily basis.

Focus shifts to US-China trade talks

The uncertainty surrounding the US-China trade talks seems to be forcing investors to move to the sidelines. If sides fail to reach a deal and the US ends up hiking tariffs on Chinese imports on December 15th as planned, markets could start pricing a lower energy demand from China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, and cause crude oil prices to come under renewed selling pressure.

Furthermore, the data published by China's General Administration of Customs on Sunday showed that exports in November declined by 1.1% annually to reveal the negative impact of the trade war.

In the meantime, Libya National Oil Corp (NOC) declared force majeure on loadings of Mellitah crude oil after the 73,000 bpd El Feel oilfield shut down last Thursday, Reuters reported on Monday, citing six industry resources. Nevertheless, this development failed to help crude oil stage a recovery.

Technical levels to watch for

WTI

Overview
Today last price	58.45
Today Daily Change	-0.82
Today Daily Change %	-1.38
Today daily open	59.27

Trends
Daily SMA20	57.44
Daily SMA50	55.78
Daily SMA100	55.91
Daily SMA200	57.67

Levels
Previous Daily High	59.9
Previous Daily Low	57.77
Previous Weekly High	59.9
Previous Weekly Low	55.41
Previous Monthly High	58.76
Previous Monthly Low	54.12
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	59.09
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	58.58
Daily Pivot Point S1	58.06
Daily Pivot Point S2	56.85
Daily Pivot Point S3	55.93
Daily Pivot Point R1	60.19
Daily Pivot Point R2	61.11
Daily Pivot Point R3	62.32

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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