WTI refreshes 13-month high above $57.00 as US-Iran tussle intensifies

WTI takes the bids while keeping the week-start jump above $57.00.
Iran wants removal of sanctions, US return to the 2015 nuclear accord to comply with the deal.
US stimulus hopes also back the energy prices even as vaccine news dwindle off-late.

Anil Panchal FXStreet

WTI stays bid around $57.25, following its week-start run-up from $56.93, during Monday’s Asian trading. The energy benchmark seems to have taken clues from the weekly news suggesting further tension between the US and Iran. Also favoring the bullish sentiment could be the hopes of getting US President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion covid relief package.

During the weekend, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, per Reuters, that Tehran’s “final and irreversible” decision was to return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal only if Washington lifts sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The comments came in after US President Joe Biden said, “the United States would not lift sanctions simply to get Iran back to the negotiating table, appeared to be posturing by both sides as they weigh whether and how to revive the pact.”

Other than Iran’s demand for the US to remove all sanctions, its top diplomat, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif added to the list while urging, per Reuters, that US to return to the 2015 nuclear accord, pointing out that legislation passed by parliament forces the government to harden its nuclear stance if U.S. sanctions are not eased by Feb. 21.

Elsewhere, US President Biden’s optimistic stimulus recently crossed the Senate to return to Congress for further details. While the Republicans are trying to keep their offer around $700 billion, Democratic Party seems ready to go ahead with nearly $2.0 trillion of package.

Also affecting the risks and commodities could be the latest news suggesting that the virus vaccines from Oxford-AstraZeneca fail to tame the South African variant of the virus.

Amid these plays, S&P 500 Futures print 0.10% intraday gains while the US 10-year Treasury yields remain positive around the highest levels since March 2020.

Moving on, a lack of major data/events in Asia keeps oil traders looking for further developments surrounding the Tehran-Washington tension for fresh impulse.

Technical analysis

Unless declining back below February 2020 peak surrounding $54.70, WTI is on the way to attack the late January 2020 high of $59.30 before highlighting the $60.00 for the oil buyers.

Additional important levels

Overview
Today last price	57.29
Today Daily Change	0.42
Today Daily Change %	0.74%
Today daily open	56.87

Trends
Daily SMA20	53.33
Daily SMA50	49.95
Daily SMA100	45.19
Daily SMA200	41.71

Levels
Previous Daily High	57.17
Previous Daily Low	56.21
Previous Weekly High	57.17
Previous Weekly Low	51.6
Previous Monthly High	53.94
Previous Monthly Low	47.26
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	56.8
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	56.57
Daily Pivot Point S1	56.33
Daily Pivot Point S2	55.79
Daily Pivot Point S3	55.37
Daily Pivot Point R1	57.29
Daily Pivot Point R2	57.7
Daily Pivot Point R3	58.24

Author

Anil Panchal

FXStreet

Anil Panchal has nearly 15 years of experience in tracking financial markets. With a keen interest in macroeconomics, Anil aptly tracks global news/updates and stays well-informed about the global financial moves and their implications.

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