WTI sheds 3% as sell-off extends below $70 amid OPEC+ deal, risk-aversion

WTI is heavily sold-off into OPEC+ agreement, damp mood.
Delta covid strain concerns continue to weigh on risk appetite.
Risk sentiment will continue to lead the way ahead of US crude supply reports.

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

WTI (futures on Nymex) is accelerating its decline starting out a new week, losing as much as 3% so far this Monday, as the $70 mark caves in.

The main driver behind the sell-off in the black gold from near two-and-a-half year highs is the compromise reached between the OPEC and allies (OPEC+) over the weekend on oil output policy.

The stand-off between Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) ended after both sides along with other OPEC+ members agreed to increase the oil supply by 400K barrels per day (bpd) from August.

Meanwhile, the risk-off mood remains at full steam amid mounting concerns over the highly contagious Delta covid variant and its impact on the nascent global economic recovery. The looming virus risks exacerbate the pain in the higher-yielding oil.

Despite the sell-off, the US banking giants such as Goldman Sachs and Citibank remain bullish on crude prices in the near term. Investors now await the weekly US crude stockpiles data due later in the week for fresh trading opportunities.

WTI technical levels to consider

WTI

Overview
Today last price	69.48
Today Daily Change	-1.75
Today Daily Change %	-2.46
Today daily open	71.16

Trends
Daily SMA20	73.22
Daily SMA50	69.77
Daily SMA100	66.03
Daily SMA200	57.04

Levels
Previous Daily High	72
Previous Daily Low	70.14
Previous Weekly High	74.95
Previous Weekly Low	70.14
Previous Monthly High	74.17
Previous Monthly Low	66.78
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	70.85
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	71.29
Daily Pivot Point S1	70.19
Daily Pivot Point S2	69.23
Daily Pivot Point S3	68.33
Daily Pivot Point R1	72.06
Daily Pivot Point R2	72.96
Daily Pivot Point R3	73.92

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.

GBP/USD loses momentum, flirts with 1.3200

GBP/USD is struggling to maintain its positive bias on Thursday, retreating toward the 1.3200 region in response to the pick in the buying interest around the Greenback. That said, Cable remains under scrutiny as cautious market sentiment keeps investors focused on the US-Iran conflict and political effervescence in the UK.

EUR/USD trims gains, challenges 1.1400

EUR/USD now gives away part of its earlier advance, receding toward the 1.1400 contention zone on Thursday. Meanwhile, the pair’s recovery comes amid extra losses in the US Dollar, at the time when while investors continue to monitor developments in the Middle East and sentiment surrounding global technology stocks.

Gold remains bid and close to $4,100

Gold accelerates its recovery and approaches the key $4,000 mark per troy ounce at the end of the week, adding to Thursday’s advance. However, expectations for a hawkish Fed remain steady and keep the yellow metal’s potential upside contained.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin at $60,000, Ethereum at $1,500, and XRP at $1 face a make-or-break test

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP) are trading in the red on Friday after three consecutive days of losses, testing their respective make-or-break support levels.

Week ahead – NFP report to challenge Dollar strength and the hawkish Fed

Dollar strength dominates markets, as the hawkish Fed overshadows geopolitics and lower oil prices. NFP week could drive September Fed hike expectations and boost market volatility. The euro lacks fresh bullish catalysts, all eyes on the preliminary inflation report and the ECB Forum.

Regime change: Inside Kevin Warsh's first move to make the Fed unreadable on purpose

The rate did not move. That was the least interesting thing about Kevin Warsh's first meeting in charge of the Fed. The FOMC held its benchmark at 3.50%-3.75% for the fourth straight meeting, exactly as priced, and then the new chair used his first press conference to dismantle the machinery the market has leaned on for a decade.