WTI moves higher to around $78.30 as Houthi Group strikes on shipping vessels in Red Sea

WTI price edges higher on escalated threat over supply disruption from the Middle East.
Iran-led Houthis targeted Belize-flagged, British-registered cargo vessel Rubymar.
European Union has deployed warships and early warning systems to safeguard shipping lanes in the Red Sea.
Saudi Aramco is considering issuing a bond of up to maturity of 50 years in 2024.

Akhtar Faruqui FXStreet

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price retraces its recent losses registered on Monday. WTI price trades higher around $78.30 per barrel during the Asian trading hours on Tuesday. The escalated threat of the oil supply disruption from the Middle East is supporting the prices of Crude oil.

The Iran-led Houthi group has conducted additional drone and missile strikes on shipping vessels in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait. Among the targeted vessels was the Belize-flagged, British-registered cargo vessel Rubymar. As a result of the attack, the crew of the cargo vessel evacuated the ship off the coast of Yemen.

In response to these attacks, the European Union (EU) has initiated a naval mission, deploying European warships and early warning systems to safeguard shipping lanes in the Red Sea from further Houthi assaults.

Crude oil prices cheer the positive economic news from the largest oil importer China. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has opted to keep its one-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR) unchanged at 3.45%. However, the PBoC has reduced the five-year LPR by 25 basis points from 4.20% to 3.95% to support its struggling economy. Furthermore, China experienced a significant increase in annual tourism revenues during the national Lunar New Year holiday period.

Saudi Aramco is reportedly considering issuing a bond in 2024 with longer maturities of up to 50 years, according to Chief Financial Officer Ziad Al-Murshed. This planned issuance is part of the company's strategy to optimize its capital structure.

WTI US OIL: additional important levels

Overview
Today last price	78.28
Today Daily Change	0.13
Today Daily Change %	0.17
Today daily open	78.15

Trends
Daily SMA20	75.99
Daily SMA50	73.98
Daily SMA100	76.81
Daily SMA200	77.49

Levels
Previous Daily High	78.51
Previous Daily Low	77.59
Previous Weekly High	78.47
Previous Weekly Low	75.51
Previous Monthly High	79.19
Previous Monthly Low	69.41
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	77.94
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	78.16
Daily Pivot Point S1	77.65
Daily Pivot Point S2	77.16
Daily Pivot Point S3	76.73
Daily Pivot Point R1	78.57
Daily Pivot Point R2	79
Daily Pivot Point R3	79.49

Author

Akhtar Faruqui

FXStreet

Akhtar Faruqui is a Forex Analyst based in New Delhi, India. With a keen eye for market trends and a passion for dissecting complex financial dynamics, he is dedicated to delivering accurate and insightful Forex news and analysis.

Markets move fast. We move first.

Orange Juice Newsletter brings you expert driven insights - not headlines. Every day on your inbox.

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD drops to daily lows near 1.1630

EUR/USD now loses some traction and slips back to the area of daily lows around 1.1630 on the back of a mild bounce in the US Dollar. Fresh US data, including the September PCE inflation numbers and the latest read on December consumer sentiment, didn’t really move the needle, so the pair is still on course to finish the week with a respectable gain.

GBP/USD trims gains, recedes toward 1.3320

GBP/USD is struggling to keep its daily advance, coming under fresh pressure and retreating to the 1.3320 zone following a mild bullish attempt in the Greenback. Even though US consumer sentiment surprised to the upside, the US Dollar isn’t getting much love, as traders are far more interested in what the Fed will say next week.

Gold makes a U-turn, back to $4,200

Gold is now losing the grip and receding to the key $4,200 region per troy ounce following some signs of life in the Greenback and a marked bounce in US Treasury yields across the board. The positive outlook for the precious metal, however, remains underpinned by steady bets for extra easing by the Fed.