WTI offered below $52.00 despite positive EIA report

• Crude oil prices stay on the defensive in sub-$52.00 levels.
• Prices of the WTI met resistance ahead of the 55-day SMA.
• US crude oil inventories dropped by around 2.7M barrels last week.

Prices of the WTI keep navigating the red territory today in levels below the $52.00 mark per barrel in spite of the larger-than-expected draw reported by the EIA.

WTI offered below $52.00/bbl

After testing new YTD peaks beyond the $53.00 milestone last Friday, prices of the barrel of West Texas Intermediate have come under some selling pressure in the last couple of sessions

and are now trading on the defensive despite US crude oil supplies dropped by 2.680M barrels during last week.

Additionally, Weekly Distillate Stocks increased by 2.967M barrels and Gasoline inventories went up by 7.503M barrels, more than initially expected.

Furthermore, inventories at Cushing decreased by 0.743M barrels, reverting last week’s 0.330M barrels build.

In the meantime, prices of the WTI appear sidelined amidst renewed concerns among traders over the likelihood of a global slowdown, although the downside seems limited by the ongoing OPEC+ deal to curb oil output.

Moving forward, driller Baker Hughes will release its weekly report on the US oil rig count on Friday.

WTI significant levels

At the moment the barrel of WTI is down 0.99% at $51.48 and a breakdown of $50.34 (low Jan.14) would open the door to $48.00 (21-day SMA) and then 42.20 (2018 low Dec. 24). On the upside, the initial hurdle lines up at $52.75 (55-day SMA) followed by $53.22 (2019 high Jan.11) and finally $54.48 (high Dec.4).