WTI slammed to multi-month lows after OPEC report, API next

Having posted a session high near $48.80 region, WTI crude oil took a sharp u-turn and collapsed to the lowest level since late Nov.

Currently trading around $47.35 region, down over 2.0% for the day, the black gold came under intense selling pressure after the latest OPEC report revealed that Saudi Arabia raised output back above 10 million barrels a day in February. 

Against the backdrop of record high US crude oil inventories, the report added to prolonged worries about global oversupply and aggravated the selling pressure around the commodity. 

Adding to this, modest US Dollar strength further collaborated to the weaker tone surrounding dollar-denominated commodities, dragging oil prices to a fresh four-month low during early NA session. 

Later during the day, the weekly API report on crude oil supplies is due for release ahead of the official EIA data on Wednesday.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate support on the downside is pegged near $47.00 round figure mark, below which the downslide could get extended towards sub-$46.00 level, with some intermediate support near $46.55-50 region.

On the upside, any recovery attempts might now confront immediate resistance near $47.90-48.00 area, which if cleared might trigger a short-covering bounce back towards $48.65-70 strong resistance ahead of $49.00 round figure mark.