WTI remains directionless near $57 as markets wait for US Pres. Trump’s speech

• US Pres. Trump is expected to deliver remarks on US-China trade conflict.
• China’s Premier Li voices commitment to support growth.
• Coming up: Weekly crude oil stock reports by API and EIA.

Following last week’s impressive rally, crude oil prices staged a technical correction on Monday before going into a consolidation phase on Tuesday. As of writing, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading near the $57 handle, adding 0.15% on a daily basis.

Trade headlines to continue to drive crude oil prices

Heightened hopes of the United States and China rolling back tariffs as part of the phase-one of the trade deal eased concerns over a global economic slowdown and its potential negative impact on the energy demand outlook and  provided the fuel to last week’s rally. Additionally, several OPEC officials hinted at the possibility of OPEC+ introducing additional output cuts at the meeting in December to support the price upsurge.

However, after US President Donald Trump on Friday said that he hasn’t yet agreed to a reduction of tariffs, investors took a step back to wait for the next significant development. Later in the session, President Trump will be speaking at a luncheon organized by the  Economic Club of New York and is expected to comment on the trade dispute with China.

Earlier in the day,  China’s Premier Li Keqiang voiced their commitment to  strengthen support to the real economy but these comments had little to no impact on the market sentiment.  

Later in the week, the American Petroleum’s (API) and the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) crude oil stock report, on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, will be watched closely by the market participants.

Technical levels to watch for