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WTI registers small daily losses, continues to trade above $61

  • API data shows larger-than-expected draw in US crude oil stocks.
  • China announces fresh stimulus to revive economic growth.
  • Coming up on Friday: EIA's weekly crude oil inventory report. 

Crude oil prices continued to push higher toward the end of the year and the barrel of West Texas Intermediate reached its highest level in more than three months at $62.31 on December 30th. Although profit-taking weighed on the WTI and caused it to post small daily losses on December 31st, it still closed the month 11.1% higher.

Steady start to 2020

At the start of the new year, the WTI edged lower but was able to limit its losses supported by the heightened hopes of global economic recovery gathering momentum and the weekly report published by the American Petroleum Institue, which showed late Tuesday that crude oil stockpiles in the US fell by 7.8 million barrels in the week ended December 27th. As of writing, the WTI was down 0.4% on a daily basis at $61.28.

At the start of 2020, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) has announced a 50 basis point cut to its Reserve Requirement Ratio (RRR). Commenting on this move, "The PBoC estimates that the cut will inject around USD 115bn of liquidity into the financial system," noted Rabobank analysts. "The move reflects a strong commitment of the central bank to support the economy."

On Friday, the Energy Information Administration will release its weekly crude oil market report.

Technical levels to watch for

WTI

Overview
Today last price61.28
Today Daily Change0.03
Today Daily Change %0.05
Today daily open61.25
 
Trends
Daily SMA2060.01
Daily SMA5058.03
Daily SMA10056.71
Daily SMA20057.86
 
Levels
Previous Daily High61.92
Previous Daily Low60.67
Previous Weekly High62.02
Previous Weekly Low60.17
Previous Monthly High62.38
Previous Monthly Low55.41
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%61.15
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%61.44
Daily Pivot Point S160.64
Daily Pivot Point S260.03
Daily Pivot Point S359.39
Daily Pivot Point R161.89
Daily Pivot Point R262.53
Daily Pivot Point R363.14

Author

Eren Sengezer

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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