Oil Retraces a Bit from 6-Month Highs ahead of US Retail Sale Data
On the last trading day of the week, WTI crude oil
futures is consolidating around $46.00 mark after its remarkable
recovery from weekly low level of $43.00 to a six-month high level of
$47.00 touched yesterday.
Oil prices this week got an initial boost from worries of supply
disruption on the Canadian wildfires. Adding to it was an unexpected
fall in US crude oil inventories and EIA's monthly Oil Market Report
that projected a pick-up in global oil demand in 2016.
With the overall positive sentiment surrounding the black gold, the
commodity on Thursday rose to its highest level since early Nov. 2015.
Ahead of the US economic releases later during NA session, which could
provide some boost to the greenback, oil bulls seem to take some profit
off the table dragging the commodity below $46.00 handle.
Technical levels to watch
A fresh bout of profit taking seems to drag the commodity towards its
immediate support near $45.30 level, which if broken could accelerate
the fall towards $44.50-40 area, which now seems to have emerged a major
downside support for the commodity.
On the flip side, strength back above $46.30, Thursday's close, should
attract fresh bids boosting it back towards $47.00 handle. The momentum
might turn out to be strong enough to boost the pair beyond $48.00
handle, towards its next major resistance $48.25-30 area (Nov. 2015
highs).
