Without a clear-cut direction, WTI crude oil is trading around $74.73 per barrel and ranging between $74.31 and $76.2.
West Texas crude is currently trading at $74.73 following the release of Building Permits (Nov) data from the United States.
WTI crude’s state is reflected by market data as United States Building Permits (Nov) came out at 1.34 million, while a consensus of analysts was expecting 1.49 million. United States Housing Starts (Nov) released today at 13:30 UTC with a figure of 1.43 million, while the previous figure was 1.43 million. United States Building Permits came out at -11.2%.
Crude Oil is approaching key support, around 87 cents away from $73.86. Dipping below could indicate further losses are ahead while a failure to break below this level is likely to be seen positively by market bulls. US crude oil made an initial breakout above its 21 day Simple Moving Average at $76.51, a potential indicator of a newly emerging bullish phase. ‘Bullish Harami’ is a candlestick chart indicator used for detecting reversals in an existing bear trend. It is generally indicated by a small price increase that’s contained within a broader downward price movement and is commonly associated with a bearish trend coming to an end.
Despite muted price action in West Texas crude, chart analysis indicates it is positioned for a bullish run in the short term.
Meanwhile, mixed performances are seen in other Energy as Natural Gas closed at $5.31 (down 9.31%). Heating Oil closed at $3 (down 1.56%). Brent Crude Oil is down $1 from the beginning of the session and now trades around $78.79.
Data to be released later is expected to clarify investor sentiment while boosting price action volatility as as things stand, upcoming United States Crude Oil Inventories data is projected to fall short of market expectations with newly published data of -167,000, following on from the preceding figure of 10.23 million. New data is set to be published tomorrow at 15:30 UTC. United States Existing Home Sales (Nov) is expected tomorrow at 15:00 UTC. United States Consumer Confidence is projected to outperform its last figure with 101. It previously stood at 100.2; data will be released tomorrow at 15:00 UTC.
West Texas crude has shed 31.81% over the past six months.