WTI hovers around $70 mark, eyes second straight weekly gain
- WTI jumps 2% but remains in a range around $68 mark, where 100-DMA aligns.
- Geopolitical risks in Afghanistan, hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico lift the US oil.
- WTI has room to rise towards $70.40 amid bullish technical indicators.
After reaching four-week highs at $70.61 on Thursday, WTI (NYMEX futures) saw a quick retracement to near the $69.50 region before entering a phase of consolidation around the $7 mark, where it now wavers.
WTI awaits US NFP for fresh cues
Despite the muted trading, WIT remains on track to book the second straight weekly gain. The cautious market mood ahead of the critical US NFP report is keeping the bulls away from initiating fresh positions in the higher-yielding oil.
The US payrolls data is likely to provide fresh guidance on the Fed’s tapering plan, impacting the risk sentiment, US dollar valuations and eventually the USD-sensitive black gold.
On oil’s fundamentals’ front, a drawdown in the US weekly crude stockpiles, published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), and the OPEC and its allies (OPEC+) policy outcome continues to underpin the sentiment around oil.
The OPEC+ agreed to maintain their existing policy of gradual oil output increases. However, the alliance’s upward revision to its 2022 demand outlook bodes well for the commodity prices.
WTI technical levels
“$68.40 offers strong support to the energy benchmark while upside moves need to wait for a clear break of 50-DMA, around $70.00. Also acting as an upside hurdle is a downward sloping trend line from July 06, near $70.35,” FXStreet’s Analyst, Anil Panchal, notes.
WTI additional levels to watch