Brent Oil Turns Red, Drops Below $44
Brent oil printed a session low of $43.85 levels even though China data showed crude imports rose to record high in March.
Rejected at $44.56
Prices
turned lower from a high of $44.56 levels in a move which largely
appears to be chart driven, given the bulls have enjoyed 6-day winning
streak. The corrective move is underway despite bullish US API storage
data and China imports figure.
The American Petroleum Institute
said that crude oil stock rose 6.223 million barrels last week, while
distillates stocks fell by 530,000 barrels. Meanwhile, official data
showed China increased inbound shipments to 91.1 million metric tons in
the first three months of the year.
Furthermore, experts believe markets have now priced-in a production freeze accord and thus profit taking may have resumed.
Brent Technical Levels
The
immediate support is noted at $43.32 (23.6% of May 2015 high-Jan 2016
low), under which prices could drop to $42.52 (Mar 18 high). On the
other hand, a break above $44.78 (previous day’s high) would expose
rising channel resistance at $46.50 levels.