WTI returns to the red below $38 ahead of EIA data

WTI downed by bearish API report and EIA outlook downgrade.
Bulls ignore Sold OPEC+ compliance, optimism over Chinese demand.
US EIA crude stocks data and sentiment on Wall Street in focus.

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

WTI’s (futures on Nymex) recovery momentum from three-month lows faltered once again above the $38 mark, as the sellers returned in the European session this Thursday.

At the press time, the US oil drops 1.05% to $37.64 and remains on track to book the first monthly loss in five. The corrective bounce lost steam in the US last session after the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) downgraded its oil demand outlook.

Further, the bearish weekly US crude stocks change report published by the American Petroleum Institute (API) late Wednesday also dented the sentiment around the black gold. The API data showed an unexpected build in the US crude stockpiles to the tune of 3 million barrels in the week to September 4.

In further evidence of bearish sentiment on oil, “leading commodity traders are booking tankers to store crude oil and diesel on the water, with supply outpacing consumption,” Reuters reported, citing trading sources and shipping data.

Meanwhile, WTI bulls ignored the report that the OPEC and its allies (OPEC+) compliance to oil output cuts rose to 103% last month. Also, the news that China is looking to bump up its strategic commodities reserves over the next five years failed to offer any support to the prices.

Markets now await the US EIA crude stocks data and the sentiment on Wall Street to gauge near-term trading opportunities in the commodity.

WTI technical levels to watch

“The daily chart studies remain biased in favor of the bears. For instance, the 5- and 10-day simple moving averages continue to trend south, while the 14-day RSI hovers in bearish territory below 50. As such, a re-test of $37.00 looks likely. A close above the descending 10-day SMA, currently at $40.66, is needed to invalidate the bearish outlook,” FXStreet’s Analyst Omkar Godbole explained.

WTI additional levels

WTI

Overview
Today last price	37.62
Today Daily Change	-0.13
Today Daily Change %	-0.34
Today daily open	38.04

Trends
Daily SMA20	41.92
Daily SMA50	41.45
Daily SMA100	36.75
Daily SMA200	41.57

Levels
Previous Daily High	38.69
Previous Daily Low	36.49
Previous Weekly High	43.7
Previous Weekly Low	39.61
Previous Monthly High	43.86
Previous Monthly Low	39.75
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	37.85
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	37.33
Daily Pivot Point S1	36.79
Daily Pivot Point S2	35.55
Daily Pivot Point S3	34.6
Daily Pivot Point R1	38.99
Daily Pivot Point R2	39.93
Daily Pivot Point R3	41.18

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

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