WTI rebounds above $74.00, focus on Red Sea developments

WTI prices gain ground near $74.30, adding 0.52% on the day.
The weaker USD due to a raised bet on rate cuts from the Fed, lifts the black gold.
The escalating tension in the Red Sea prompted fears of shipping disruption.

Lallalit Srijandorn FXStreet

Western Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $74.30 on Thursday. The recovery of WTI prices is bolstered by the softer US Dollar (USD), which lends some support to USD-denominated commodities.

That being said, the decline of the USD to a five-month low due to raising bets on interest rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) has boosted the black gold. Investors have priced in over 88% of a rate cut starting in March 2024 and expect more than 150 basis points (bps) of rate cuts next year.

Market players will closely monitor the developments in the Red Sea as a drone attack on an oil tanker prompted fears of shipping disruption. Furthermore, the ongoing Israeli military attack in Gaza remained a major driver of market sentiment. Central Gaza was pummelling by land, sea, and air by Israeli forces on Wednesday, one day after Israel's Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, stated that the conflict would last for many months.

According to the American Petroleum Institute weekly report on Wednesday, US crude oil inventories increased by 1.837M barrels for the week ending December 23 from the previous reading of 0.939M barrels gain.

Oil traders will keep an eye on the EIA Crude Oil Stocks Change report, due on Thursday. Also, the US Initial weekly Jobless Claims, Trade Balance for November, and Pending Home Sales will be released. Traders will take cues from the data and find trading opportunities around WTI prices.

WTI US OIL

Overview
Today last price	74.28
Today Daily Change	0.34
Today Daily Change %	0.46
Today daily open	73.94

Trends
Daily SMA20	72.63
Daily SMA50	76.83
Daily SMA100	80.98
Daily SMA200	77.74

Levels
Previous Daily High	75.71
Previous Daily Low	73.91
Previous Weekly High	75.41
Previous Weekly Low	71.01
Previous Monthly High	83.34
Previous Monthly Low	72.39
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	74.6
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	75.03
Daily Pivot Point S1	73.33
Daily Pivot Point S2	72.72
Daily Pivot Point S3	71.53
Daily Pivot Point R1	75.13
Daily Pivot Point R2	76.32
Daily Pivot Point R3	76.93

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.

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