WTI fluctuates on mixed EIA report, trades near mid-$57s
- EIA shows a larger-than-expected drawdown in US crude stocks.
- US oil output continues to rise.
- OPEC compliance with output cuts reaches 122% in November.
Crude oil prices fluctuated wildly amid mixed reactions to the Energy Information Administration's weekly oil report. After dropping to a daily low at $57.45, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate recovered some of its losses and was last seen trading at $57.65, up 0.15% on the day.
The EIA's weekly petroleum report on Wednesday showed that commercial crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 6.5 million barrels for the week ending December 15, surpassing the market expectation of a 3.769 million barrels decline. However, crude oil production increased 0.1% on a weekly basis, lifting the annual rise to 11.4%.
Earlier today, Kuwait's oil minister Essam al-Marzouq said that OPEC, non-OPEC compliance with oil production cuts reached its highest level since the deal started in January at 122%. Moreover, al-Marzouq added that OPEC was expecting global oil demand to increase by 1.51 million barrels per day in 2018.
With the weekly inventory data out of the way, investors will be watching Friday's Baker Hughes report, which showed a decline in the total number of active oil rigs in the U.S. last week following six straight weeks of increase.
Technical levels to consider
The initial resistance for the barrel of WTI could be seen at $58.55 (Dec. 12 high) ahead of $59.05 (Nov. 24 high) and $60 (psychological level). On the downside, supports are located at $57.15 (Dec. 19 low), $56.10 (Dec. 14 low) and $55 (psychological level).