After closing at $76.93 yesterday, US crude oil opened today at $77.35, to be greeted by bearish sentiment that overshadowing today's price action. Irrespective of the bearish mood, US crude oil retains a distinct $74.39 to $77.88 daily range.
WTI crude is currently trading at $74.5 following the release of EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook data from the United States.
Meanwhile, United States ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI (Nov) released yesterday at 15:00 UTC with a figure of 56.5, while the previous figure was 54.4. United States Trade Balance (Oct) came out at -78.2 billion, while a consensus of analysts was expecting -80 billion. United States Exports data released today at 13:30 UTC showed continuing decline to 256.6 billion from a previous figure of 258.5 billion.
A study of WTI crude's historical price actions shows Crude Oil could begin to recover as it approaches significant support, now 39 cents away from $74.89. Dipping below could be an indication that further losses are ahead. Technical analysis trend indicators suggest that the Commodity Channel Index (CCI) indicator is below -100, meaning the market price is unusually low and below its rolling moving average. Technical analysis indicates that a new, strong downtrend could be forthcoming with short positions favored. Asset volatility analysis shows that Bollinger Bands® shows an indication of recovery: the lower band is at $73.11, a low enough level to, generally, suggest that WTI crude is trading below its fair value.
Overall, the technical outlook suggests WTI crude oil is likely to remain muted for the immediate future, with no clear-cut direction.
In the meantime, negative performances are also seen in other Energy as Brent Crude Oil is trading around $79.97 (down $2.71). Heating Oil is down to $2.9, losing 9.78 cents, after closing at $3 in the preceding trading session.
Some optimism can drawn from the fact that United States Crude Oil Inventories is projected to outperform its last figure with -3.88 million. It previously stood at -12.58 million; data will be released tomorrow at 15:30 UTC.
The commodity has been trending lower for about a month. WTI crude has shed 36.12% over the past six months.