WTI sticks to small gains above $47

Crude oil prices remain in a relatively tight range on Friday with the barrel of West Texas Intermediate holding on to small gains a little above the $47 handle at the moment of writing.

On Thursday, the barrel of WTI dropped to its lowest level in more than a month at $45.58 before starting a recovery move. Hurricane Harvey this week caused major flooding in the biggest oil producing state in the U.S., Texas, weighing on crude oil prices. According to a recent Reuters article, "Harvey, downgraded to a tropical storm and losing steam as it moved inland, shut at least 4.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity. That sparked fears of a fuel shortage before the Labor Day weekend and cut refinery demand for crude."

However, OPEC's compliance to pledged output cut increased to 89% in August from 84% in July, allowing the barrel of WTI to erase a portion of its losses. Nevertheless, WTI is still looking to close the fifth week in a row with losses.

• Iraq’s OilMin: Iraq is in full compliance with OPEC deal - RTRS
• OPEC oil output falls by 170,000 bpd in August - Reuters

Technical levels to consider:

The barrel of WTI could encounter the first technical support at $45.75 (Aug. 29 low) ahead of $45 (psychological level) and $43.80 (Jul. 7 low). On the upside, resistance could be seen at $47.50 (Sept. 1/weekly high), $48.20 (Aug. 28 high) and $49.15 (Aug. 14 high).