WTI eases towards $ 63.50 ahead of EIA data, FOMC
- Profit-taking slide ahead of the US EIA report and FOMC?
- Middle East tensions and bullish API data remain supportive.
WTI (oil futures on NYMEX) resumes its corrective mode heading into the early European trading, having failed several attempts near $ 63.90 levels, as the bulls catch a breath before the next push higher.
The latest leg down in the black gold can be also attributed to surging Treasury yields on Fed rate hike expectations and hawkish dot plot, which dulls the attractiveness of oil as an alternative higher-yielding asset.
However, the barrel of WTI continues to find some support from a weekly decline in the US crude stockpiles, as shown by the American Petroleum Institute (API) late-Tuesday. The API showed that the US crude supplies fell by 2.7 million barrels for the week ended March 16.
More so, oil prices also benefit from looming Middle East concerns amid tensions surrounding Iran and Saudi Arabia. Saudi’s Crown Prince is set to meet the US President Trump, which could fuel further aggression towards Iran.
Focus now remains on the official US government numbers on the weekly crude stockpiles and output for fresh momentum while the FOMC outcome could also have a major impact on the USD-sensitive oil.
WTI Technicals
At $ 63.62, the resistances are aligned at $ 63.85/98 (daily top/ 3-week top), $ 64.50 (psychological levels) and $ 65 (zero figure). On the flipside, the supports are located at $ 63.21 (daily pivot), $ 62.79 (5-DMA) and $ 62.03 (10-DMA).