WTI trades with a positive bias above $82.00, US NFP data looms

Western Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $82.60 so far on Friday. WTI prices trade in positive territory for the second consecutive day on the risk appetite in the market and the weaker of the US Dollar (USD).

At its November meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to maintain the interest rate unchanged at 5.25%-5.50% on Wednesday, as widely expected by the market. The anticipation that FOMC has reached a peak in its interest rate hiking cycle lifts the WTI prices and weighs on the Greenback.

Furthermore, the rising geopolitical tensions between Israel and Hamas are driving up WTI prices. That being said, the risk of the conflict spreading across the region could threaten disruptions to oil supplies.

Early Friday, China’s Services PMI climbed to 50.4 in October from 50.4 in September, better than the market consensus. However, the nation’s Caixin Manufacturing PMI on Wednesday came in worse than the estimation. Additionally, both NBS Manufacturing PMI and Non-Manufacturing PMI were worse than expected. These downbeat Chinese data could cap the black gold’s upside. It’s worth noting that China is the major oil consumer in the world, and a negative economic outlook could exert pressure on oil prices.

Oil traders will closely watch the US employment data later on Friday. The US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) are estimated to increase by 180K jobs in October from 336K in September. While Unemployment is expected to remain unchanged at 3.8%. These events could significantly impact the USD-denominated WTI price. Oil traders will take cues from the data and find trading opportunities around WTI prices.