Oil Prices Down Again With WTI Below $75, Despite EIA Inventory Draw
Oil prices have turned bearish again as Libya’s production halt is being dismissed, with US WTI crude falling below $74 earlier today, although it has climbed back and is around $1 higher. Yesterday’s private API crude inventories showed a larger drawdown than expected, while today the EIA inventories were expected to decline by almost -3 million barrels for the week, but missed expectations, showing only a -0.8 million barrel decline, which is not helping Oil.
WTI crude oil prices surged over 3% to the $77.50 range on Monday, driven by geopolitical tensions after Libya announced a reduction in oil production and exports due to political disagreements. However, a bearish reversal occurred yesterday and has continued today, erasing all of Monday’s gains as prices head toward the $72 support zone.
WTI Crude Oil Chart Daily – The Decline Continues After the Failure at the 200 SMA Yesterday
Key Support Levels for Oil
The immediate short-term support level for WTI crude is currently just above $74, followed by $72.80. If prices breach these levels, it could lead to increased selling pressure, with the $71.50 support zone, which has been sustaining the falls since February, coming into focus as a crucial level to watch.
US EIA Weekly Oil Inventories Report
- EIA Weekly Crude Oil Inventories: Decreased by 846K barrels, significantly less than the expected draw of 2265K barrels.
- Previous Week: Inventory draw of 4649K barrels.
Detailed EIA Breakdown
- Gasoline Inventories: Decreased by 2203K barrels, slightly less than the 2265K barrel draw expected.
- Distillate Inventories: Increased by 275K barrels, contrasting with the expected draw of 1083K barrels.
- Refinery Utilization: Increased by 1.0%, higher than the anticipated increase of 0.2%.
- Oil Production: Stood at 13.3 million barrels per day, a slight decrease from the previous 13.4 million barrels per day.
API Inventory Data Released Late Yesterday
- Crude Oil: Draw of 3400K barrels.
- Gasoline: Draw of 1860K barrels.
- Distillates: Draw of 1400K barrels.
US WTI Crude Oil Live Chart
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