WTI recovers above $57, remains confined in tight daily range

After gaining as much as $1 on Friday, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate retraced some of its daily gains after the Baker Hughes report from the United States and recorded a $1 for the week. The barrel of WTI started the new week in a calm manner and was last seen trading at $57.20, down 0.28% on the day. 

Earlier in the day, remarks from OPEC officials brought a modest selling pressure on crude oil prices. Speaking to Bloomberg following the annual meeting of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries on Sunday, Kuwait’s Oil Minister Issam Almarzooq said that OPEC and its global allies including Russia may end their production cuts before 2019 if the crude market re-balances by June. Moreover, the UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazroui also crossed the news wires, noting that OPEC and non-OPEC producers would develop an exit strategy.

Following those above comments, the barrel of WTI eased below the $57 handle but was able to stage a modest recovery. Later this week, investors will be closely following the API's and EIA's weekly crude oil reports from the United States. Last Friday, Baker Hughes Inc. announced that drillers in the U.S. added two more rigs last week, lifting the total number of active rigs to its highest level since September at 751. Any further signs of the shale output increasing in the U.S. could continue to weigh on crude oil prices.

Technical outlook

The barrel of WTI could face the initial hurdle at $57.80 (Dec. 8 high) ahead of $58.35 (Dec. 4 high) and $59.05 (Nov. 24 high). On the flip downside, supports align at $55.80 (Dec. 7 low), $55 (psychological level) and $54.40 (Nov. 3 low).