- Venezuelan exports concerns offset surging US crude output.
- Awaits fresh direction from Friday’s US drilling sector activity report.
WTI (oil futures on NYMEX) is defending minor bids just below the $ 65 mark, extending its consolidative mode into the European session.
Despite, having failed several attempts to sustain above the 65.00 levels, the barrel of WTI manages to retain the bids in Europe, largely underpinned by the looming concerns over the Venezuelan supplies.
The OPEC-member’s, Venezuela, exports continue to plunge on the back of falling output levels amidst the financial and economic crisis. Venezuela faces hurdles clearing 24 mln barrels oil export backlog – Reuters data
However, the unexpected rise seen in the US crude inventories combined with surging US oil production keep the lid on the upside. The US crude oil production hit another record last week at 10.8 million barrels per day while the US crude inventories also rose, gaining 2.1 million barrels in the week to June 1, to 436.6 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, increased nervousness ahead of the June 22nd OPEC meeting in Vienna, also keeps the investors away from creating any fresh positions in the black gold. In the meantime, traders await Friday’s US rigs count data for further momentum on the prices.
WTI Technical levels
Joshua Gibson, Analyst at FXStreet, noted: “The short-term outlook remains bearish despite and only a daily close above the 10-day MA, currently seen at $66.90 would add credence to yesterday’s bullish hammer and signal a short-term bullish-to-bearish trend change. Bearish scenario: Oil rises to 10-day MA, but fails to take out the moving average and drops below the 100-day MA of $65.34 In this case, oil could go as low as $62.00.”
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