WTI drifts lower to $84.70, eyes on Gaza ceasefire talks, US CPI data

WTI extends its downside near $84.60 on Wednesday.
The bigger-than-expected build in US crude inventories weighs on the black gold.
The uncertainty over Gaza ceasefire talks and ongoing Middle East geopolitical tensions might cap the downside of WTI.

Lallalit Srijandorn FXStreet

Western Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $84.60 on Wednesday. The black gold trades in negative territory for the fourth consecutive day amid the US crude stock build and profit-taking ahead of the release of the US March Consumer Price Index (CPI) report and the FOMC Minutes, due later on Wednesday.

The recent US employment report last week has triggered speculation that the Federal Reserve (Fed) might delay interest rate cuts this year. Investors will closely watch the US CPI inflation data for March, as it could offer some insights about the inflation trajectory and the path of the Fed’s monetary policy. The firmer-than-expected outcome might lift the US Dollar (USD) and weigh on the USD-denominated WTI price.

Furthermore, the bigger-than-expected build in US crude inventories exerts some selling pressure on WTI prices. US crude oil inventories for the week ending April 5 increased by 3.034 million barrels from the previous week's decline of 2.286M million barrels. The market consensus estimated that stocks would rise by about 2.415 million barrels, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday.

The leader of Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy said that the Strait of Hormuz might be closed if necessary. About a fifth of the volume of the world's total oil consumption passes through the strait every day. This, in turn, might trigger the fear of oil supply disruption and cap the downside of WTI prices.

On Tuesday, Hamas stated that an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in their war in Gaza did not match the conditions of Palestinian militant groups, but that it would consider the offer further. Oil traders will monitor the developments surrounding the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The ongoing tensions could raise concerns about a tight market.

WTI US OIL

Overview
Today last price	84.67
Today Daily Change	-0.11
Today Daily Change %	-0.13
Today daily open	84.78

Trends
Daily SMA20	82.49
Daily SMA50	79.14
Daily SMA100	76.32
Daily SMA200	79.18

Levels
Previous Daily High	86.32
Previous Daily Low	84.51
Previous Weekly High	87.12
Previous Weekly Low	82.26
Previous Monthly High	83.05
Previous Monthly Low	76.5
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	85.2
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	85.63
Daily Pivot Point S1	84.08
Daily Pivot Point S2	83.39
Daily Pivot Point S3	82.27
Daily Pivot Point R1	85.9
Daily Pivot Point R2	87.01
Daily Pivot Point R3	87.71

Author

Lallalit Srijandorn

FXStreet

Lallalit Srijandorn is a Parisian at heart. She has lived in France since 2019 and now becomes a digital entrepreneur based in Paris and Bangkok.

AUD/USD remains below 0.7000 amid light trading

AUD/USD fills a modest bearish gap on Monday, but remains below 0.7000 in the Asian session amid holiday-thinned liquidity. The US Dollar attempts a bounce even as US bond yields pull back from multi-year highs, limiting the pair. Moreover, diminishing odds of another RBA rate hike in November cap the Aussie.

USD/JPY hovers above 158.00 amid Japan/ US holiday

USD/JPY extends its range-bound price action into a new week, trading above 158.00 as bulls remain on high alert amid speculation that authorities will step in to prop up the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, softer US bond yields keep US Dollar bulls on the back foot and cap the pair's upside. However, geopolitical uncertainties could limit losses for the safe-haven buck amid thin liquidity due to a holiday in Japan and the US.

Gold sticks to modest losses; seems vulnerable below $4,200 on Fed hike bets

Gold extends its intraday retracement slide from a one-week high, hitting a fresh daily low around $4,170 during the early European session. The US Dollar attracts fresh buyers after a modest downtick amid the US Federal Reserve's hawkish outlook, which, in turn, is seen as weighing on the non-yielding bullion.

Pi Network Price Forecast: PI defends $0.0800 support as selling pressure mounts

Pi Network is trading in the red on Monday, hovering above $0.0800 as selling pressure mounts. PI token’s speculative demand is easing, with Open Interest below $9 million despite rising social chatter, hinting at panic-driven buzz among investors. The technical outlook for PI suggests a bearish bias, with the risk of breaking below the $0.0800 support level.

USD/INR: Deep in red below 96.00 as RBI rescues Indian Rupee

After opening significantly higher against the US Dollar (USD) on Monday, the Indian Rupee (INR) clings to recovery gains near 95.80. The pair remains undermined by the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) fresh measures to curb US Dollar demand, which has brought relief for the Indian currency.

Has Bitcoin really escaped the macro forces it was built to fight?

Over 17 years ago, Satoshi Nakamoto designed Bitcoin (BTC) on the back of a global financial crisis as an alternative to the global monetary system outside the control of central banks, governments and traditional intermediaries. This raises a key question: has Bitcoin really become independent of the macroeconomic forces it was built to challenge?