WTI drops back towards $22 mark, as coronavirus fears spark risk-off

WTI shaves-off gains and drops back towards $22 levels.
Hopes of a new enlarged-OPEC deal roiled by coronavirus-led risk-off.
DXY rebound also adds to the pain in WTI ahead of House vote, Rigs data

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

Having failed another attempt to sustain the recovery gains above the 23 level, WTI (oil futures on NYMEX) sellers returned and knocked-off the rates back to test Thursday’s low of 22.38. At the time of writing, the black gold trades at 22.57, down 0.20% so far, with eyes set on the 22 mark.

Oil bulls are unable to take advantage of the increased hopes of a new OPEC deal being considered by Russia, as risk-aversion rears its ugly head in Europe amid mounting fears over the coronavirus rapid spread and its economic fallout.

Earlier today, Dmitriev, Head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), called for a new OPEC alliance (OPEC+) deal to stabilize the oil market and cushion the demand impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

However, the market sentiment was roiled by a 17k surge in virus cases in the US on Thursday, as the US overtook China as the nation with the most infections. The optimism fueled by the US fiscal stimulus was washed away by the intensifying virus spread globally.

Also, increased haven demand for the greenback amid risk-off collaborated with the latest leg down in barrel from WTI from near the 23 handle.

Attention now turns towards the US House vote on the coronavirus relief package and Baker Hughes Oil Rigs Count data for fresh trading impetus while virus-related updates will continue to remain a major driver on the market sentiment.

WTI technical levels to consider

WTI

Overview
Today last price	22.60
Today Daily Change	-0.29
Today Daily Change %	-1.20
Today daily open	24.19

Trends
Daily SMA20	33.3
Daily SMA50	44.85
Daily SMA100	51.92
Daily SMA200	53.98

Levels
Previous Daily High	25.58
Previous Daily Low	23.41
Previous Weekly High	31.9
Previous Weekly Low	20.57
Previous Monthly High	54.69
Previous Monthly Low	43.95
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	24.24
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	24.75
Daily Pivot Point S1	23.2
Daily Pivot Point S2	22.22
Daily Pivot Point S3	21.03
Daily Pivot Point R1	25.38
Daily Pivot Point R2	26.57
Daily Pivot Point R3	27.56

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.

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