WTI struggles to recover after EIA report, trades below $56

• EIA reports a larger-than-expected increase in crude oil stocks.
• Russia is said to speed up output cuts.
• Eyes on U.S. – China trade talks.

Crude oil prices, which rallied on hopes of the U.S. – China trade conflict coming to an end at the end of the month when President Trump and President Xi meet, remain in a consolidation phase with the barrel of West Texas Intermediate fluctuating in a relatively tight range and losing around 30 cents near $55.90 as of writing.

Earlier today, the weekly report published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed that commercial crude oil inventories in the U.S. increased by 7.1 million barrels from the previous week to help the modest bearish stay intact on Wednesday. Nevertheless, investors seem to be refraining from making large bets while waiting for the next significant development in U.S. – China trade talks.  

Earlier this week, According to the Russian news agency TASS, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that they were planning to “reach an average daily decline in oil output under the OPEC + agreement by 228,000 barrels by the end of March,” to keep the losses limited.  

Technical levels to watch for