WTI headed towards yearly highs on $55 handle on supply and demand concerns

• WTI meets supply at fresh daily highs ahead of Fed.  
• WTI is currently trading at $54.57bbls, within a range of between $53.21bbls and $55.07bbls.  

WTI is continuing  its upside trajectory following this year’s supply cuts, led by OPEC as well as the  Venezuelan factors that have come to the fore recent  days.

OPEC-led production cuts of 1.2 million barrels a day for the first half of the year which has been aimed at rebalancing an oversupplied market underpins the upside and the fresh    U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s Petróleos de Venezuela SA, or PdVSA,  earlier this week which increases the risk of disruptions to global oil supply is sparking a bullish rally in the black gold.

Additionally, on Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that domestic crude supplies edged up by 900,000 barrels for the week ended Jan. 25,  below the 3.1 million-barrel rise expected by analysts polled by S&P Global Platts. Today, WTI crude for March delivery  was up $1.45, or 2.7%, to $54.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. However,  spot  has recently edged back below the $55 handle.  

WTI levels

Technically, the price remains in no man’s land, leaning with a bullish bias still according to daily RSI that is drifting higher towards overbought territory and MACD turning positive.