WTI remains on the defensive around $78.00 amid signs of easing supply tightness, stronger US Dollar

WTI prices remained slightly on the defensive near $78.00 on Wednesday.
The easing fear of oil supply disruption caps the upside of black gold for the time being.
Saudi Arabia has increased oil prices to Asian customers, including China.

Lallalit Srijandorn FXStreet

Western Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $78.00 on Wednesday. The black gold edges lower due to a stronger US Dollar (USD) and signs of easing supply concerns. Oil traders will shift their focus to the EIA Crude Oil stockpiles report due later on Wednesday.

Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas are still uncertain. Israel's war cabinet voted to continue the military attack on Hamas, and Israeli troops launched strikes on Gaza's southernmost city. Even though Hamas agreed to a ceasefire proposal on Monday, Israel said the conditions did not meet its demands, as per the New York Times. Any signs of escalating geopolitical risks in the Middle East could lead to a sharp increase in oil prices, according to the EIA. On the one hand, the easing fear of an oil supply disruption might drag WTI prices lower.

On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) revealed that US crude inventories for the week ending May 3 rose by 509,000 barrels from a build of 4.9M barrels in the previous week. The market consensus estimated that stocks would decrease by 1.43M barrels. A rise in US crude oil stock exerts some selling pressure on black gold prices, as it’s typically a sign of weak demand.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia raised the price of its crude sold to Asia, Northwest Europe, and the Mediterranean in June on the back of a strong demand outlook this summer. The increase is in line with Saudi Arabia’s efforts to keep prices up as the prospect of conflict in the Middle East fades, according to Bloomberg.

WTI US OIL

Overview
Today last price	78.02
Today Daily Change	-0.11
Today Daily Change %	-0.14
Today daily open	78.13

Trends
Daily SMA20	82.13
Daily SMA50	81.49
Daily SMA100	78.04
Daily SMA200	79.79

Levels
Previous Daily High	78.9
Previous Daily Low	77.39
Previous Weekly High	83.63
Previous Weekly Low	77.76
Previous Monthly High	87.12
Previous Monthly Low	80.62
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	77.97
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	78.32
Daily Pivot Point S1	77.38
Daily Pivot Point S2	76.62
Daily Pivot Point S3	75.86
Daily Pivot Point R1	78.9
Daily Pivot Point R2	79.66
Daily Pivot Point R3	80.41

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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