- Crude oil prices pause their gains just below the $64.00 mark.
- Upbeat US Retail Sales and Chinese economic data lift the demand outlook.
- Weaker USD also supports crude oil prices.
After strong rebounds from weekly lows, crude oil prices are accumulating minor losses in the European session.
At the time of writing, WTI crude oil is trading at $63.47, up 0.02% on the day.
Crude oil prices struggled to capitalize on weekly gains and seem to have gone into a minor correction mode. The upbeat US and Chinese data fuel the hope for recovery in energy demand sooner than expected. Retail Sales in the US recorded their highest growth since May 2020, while unemployment benefits fell to the lowest since the pandemic began in March 2020. On the same line, the Chinese economy expanded by 18.3% YoY in Q1.
OPEC and its allies raised its demand outlook for 2021 on the backdrop of economic stimulus and an effective vaccination program across regions. The positive sentiments were echoed by a larger-than-expected draw in crude oil inventories last week, as reported by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API).
However, the rising number of coronavirus cases and extended lockdown in Europe and Asia, still mark a pessimistic view on the pace of global economic recovery. This, in turn, hurts the sentiment around the black gold.
As for now, the dynamics around the US dollar will continue to influence crude oil prices.
WTI technical levels
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