WTI recovers modestly from weekly lows, stays below $72

Crude oil prices suffered heavy losses on Wednesday and Thursday.
WTI remains on track to close second straight week in the negative territory.
Focus shifts to Baker Hughes' Oil Rig Count data.

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Crude oil prices fell sharply in the second half of the week and the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) touched its lowest level in a week at $71.12 on Friday. After losing nearly 5% in a two-day span, WTI is staging a modest recovery and was last seen gaining 0.45% on the day at 0.7175.

Supply dynamics weigh on oil prices

Earlier in the week, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia reportedly reached a compromise on production levels, opening the door for OPEC+ producers to reach an agreement on output strategy. However, investors are worried that other producers will also look for privileges on production and delay a deal.

Meanwhile, the sharp increase witnessed in coronavirus delta variant infections seems to have revived worries over an unsteady recovery in the global energy demand. In its latest monthly report, OPEC left the 2021 world oil demand growth forecast unchanged at 5.95 million barrels per day. On a positive note, the organization noted that the world oil demand is forecast to reach comparable pre-pandemic levels in 2022. Nevertheless, this report failed to help oil prices regain traction.

Later in the day, Baker Hughes' weekly US Oil Rig Count data will be looked upon for fresh impetus.

Technical levels to watch for

WTI

Overview
Today last price	71.6
Today Daily Change	0.41
Today Daily Change %	0.58
Today daily open	71.19

Trends
Daily SMA20	73.22
Daily SMA50	69.65
Daily SMA100	65.95
Daily SMA200	56.89

Levels
Previous Daily High	72.49
Previous Daily Low	71.02
Previous Weekly High	76.4
Previous Weekly Low	70.28
Previous Monthly High	74.17
Previous Monthly Low	66.78
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	71.58
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	71.93
Daily Pivot Point S1	70.64
Daily Pivot Point S2	70.1
Daily Pivot Point S3	69.18
Daily Pivot Point R1	72.11
Daily Pivot Point R2	73.03
Daily Pivot Point R3	73.57

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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