WTI Crude Oil Prices Flat Despite Ongoing Fears of Coronavirus
At the starting of the Asian session, WTI crude oil prices remained unchanged despite the ongoing coronavirus fears still weighing because the spreading showed no sign of decreasing. The US Crude Oil WTI Futures gained 0.2% to $50.02 by 1:18 AM ET (05:18 GMT).
WTI Crude Oil prices dropped almost 3% in the previous session due to the growing spread of the disease. According to latest reports, the coronavirus has hitting nations beyond China, such as Croatia, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, and Austria, which are reporting their first cases of the virus. Italy is a large concern as it has confirmed 322 cases of the virus, the Italian civil protection agency said Tuesday. That’s the highest number of coronavirus infections outside Asia. Notably, some EU governments are warning against traveling to infected regions.
At the data front, the American Petroleum Institute reported that crude stockpiles rose 1.3 million barrels last week. Whereas, supporting the pullback could be the broad weakness of the US Dollar Index. The greenback has been under pressure of late as coronavirus-led risk aversion weighs on the US bond yields and stocks.
Government data on weekly oil inventories is scheduled to release later in the day and is expected to show a two million-barrel rise. On the fundamental side, OPEC+ is expected to meet in Vienna in early March and is expected to take measures to respond to the spread of the coronavirus.
Daily Support and Resistance
S1 46.02
S2 48.33
S3 49.24
Pivot Point 50.64
R1 51.55
R2 52.96
R3 55.27
For now, oil traders will be more concerned about the EIA’s inventory numbers, expected 2.467 million barrels versus the previous readouts of 0.414 million barrels. Let’s look for selling trades below 50 today with a stop loss of over 50.64 and take profit at 48.60. Good luck!