West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled at $82.10, up $0.69, or 0.85%.
The gains come after three straight sessions of losses, and were driven by positive demand expectations from OPEC and a large drawdown in U.S. inventories.
The US Energy Information Administration announced that US oil inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels, exceeding the expected decrease of 1.3 million barrels.
Meanwhile, OPEC maintained its forecast for demand in 2024, expecting demand to rise by 2.2 million barrels per day compared to 2023, which is more than the expectations of other agencies.
Looking at the daily chart, today’s low was $80.81. That was just $0.19 below the next target at $80.62 (see red line and read the number circles – see yesterday’s post by clicking here). Buyers moved in early ahead of the swing level target.
Has the price bottomed out now? The close support that could give buyers more confidence now would be for the price to stay above the 61.8% level at $81.84. If the price can hold in the near term, the buyers will regain full control.