- WTI prints three-day winning streak to probe early-March tops.
- Risk-on sentiment joins OPEC+ output cut to please the commodity buyers.
- Officials from Saudi Arabia, Russia and the key OPEC members will hold a press conference at 10:00 AM GMT.
While extending pullback moves from $39.00, WTI benchmark for oil rises to $40.28, up 2.91% on a day, amid the pre-European session on Monday. In doing so, the black gold nears the early-Asia top surrounding $40.60, the highest since March 06.
The energy benchmark has recently cheered the extension of global output cut accord by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies including Russia, mostly known as OPEC+, during the weekend. The major oil producers agreed on Sunday to extend the prevailing production cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) by one more month till the end of July.
In addition to the supply cut news, hopes of an increase in demand have also favored the oil prices. The reason could be traced from surprisingly positive employment data from the US and Canada, as well as the weekend release of record trade surplus from China.
Furthermore, Bloomberg’s news that Saudi Arabia hiked prices of oil and Reuters citing Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Allawi to confirm the nation’s commitment to the OPEC+ accord added strength to the energy prices.
It’s worth mentioning that Iran’s readiness to release more US prisoners cites the improving relationship between the previous foes, which in turn could help the oil markets.
Looking forward, the OPEC+ presser at 10:00 AM GMT will be the key for the WTI prices. Traders will be particularly interested in seeking the members’ commitment to the group’s supply cut agreement. Should there be any surprises, the oil investors will be keen to respond with a magnified reaction.
Technical analysis
A six-week-old ascending trend line near $36.90 offers near-term key support to the oil benchmark ahead of a 100-day SMA level of $35.80. Unless the quote slips below $36.90, it can keep the strength to fill the early-March gap around $41.20 before confronting a 200-day SMA level of $46.57.
Share
