The sentiment for crude Oil remains bearish on larger timeframe charts, such as the daily chart. Although US WTI Oil has found support at the 200 SMA on this timeframe for more than two weeks. Sellers have pierced below it a couple of times, but this moving average continues to hold and we are seeing a bounce today, after the dip to $94,30s. Now it trades above $97, although the highs keep getting lower which is a bearish signal.

Crude Oil Daily Chart – The 200 SMA Still Holding As Support

US Weekly Crude Oil Inventory

• US weekly crude oil inventories -4,523K vs -1,037K expected
• Prior crude inventories -446K
• Gasoline -3304 vs -857K expected
• Distillates -748 vs +500K expected
• Cushing +751K
• Refinery utilization -1.5%
• US implied oil demand (product supplied) fell by 1.049 mbpd
• Implied motor gasoline demand 9.25mbpd vs 8.52mbpd last week

The SPR drew another 5,604K barrels, which continues to run shy of the 1 mbpd target.

The API numbers from yesterday

• Crude Oil -4,037K
• Gasoline +1,060K
• Distillates -550K

Crude traded at around $94.30s in the aftermath. That’s a surprising draw but the implied demand numbers continue to run soft, which is very strange given that we’re in the summer driving season. There was a bounce in gasoline demand this week but not quite as strong as the bulls would hope given how poor the past two weeks were and how gasoline prices have fallen.