WTI steps back from four-week top as coronavirus updates renew demand worries

WTI snaps two-day winning streak.
Headlines from Saudi Arabia, EIA data failed to sustain the upside.
Coronavirus keeps global policymakers on the edge.

Anil Panchal FXStreet

WTI declines to $53.60 during the early trading hours on Friday. The energy benchmark flashed the monthly high on Thursday but coronavirus fears fail to please the energy buyers afterward.

In addition to the increasing cases from China, the rising impact of coronavirus in other Asian nations, namely Japan, Singapore and South Korea, is also questioning the market’s future energy demand.

Even so, the Chinese Commerce Ministry stays ready to take further measures to counter the economic impact of coronavirus.

Also distantly weighing on the oil prices could be Russian refrain to be clear about future production cuts.

The US State Department recently renewed its travel warnings whereas Japanese diplomats and German Finance Ministry reports also showed concerns about the contagion’s negative impact.

In doing so, the energy benchmark ignores the weaker than expected inventory build as well as headlines from Saudi Arabia. As per Saudi state news agency, Saudi Air Defence intercepts and destroys several ballistic missiles fired from Yemen's Sanaa. On Thursday, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ran a show power while touring Saudi Arabia and indirectly challenged Iran. Also supporting the energy prices were upbeat activity numbers from the US.

Looking forward, coronavirus headlines will be the key to watch for fresh direction.

Technical Analysis

The mid-month tops nearing $52.50 and February 06 high close to $52.30 are on the sellers’ radar whereas 200-bar SMA and 50% Fibonacci retracement act as the tough resistance around $54.55.

Additional important levels

Overview
Today last price	53.52
Today Daily Change	-0.41
Today Daily Change %	-0.76%
Today daily open	53.93

Trends
Daily SMA20	51.97
Daily SMA50	56.75
Daily SMA100	56.36
Daily SMA200	56.47

Levels
Previous Daily High	54.69
Previous Daily Low	53.43
Previous Weekly High	52.54
Previous Weekly Low	49.59
Previous Monthly High	65.45
Previous Monthly Low	51.05
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	54.21
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	53.91
Daily Pivot Point S1	53.35
Daily Pivot Point S2	52.76
Daily Pivot Point S3	52.09
Daily Pivot Point R1	54.61
Daily Pivot Point R2	55.28
Daily Pivot Point R3	55.87

Author

Anil Panchal

FXStreet

Anil Panchal has nearly 15 years of experience in tracking financial markets. With a keen interest in macroeconomics, Anil aptly tracks global news/updates and stays well-informed about the global financial moves and their implications.

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