Crude Oil prices declined 0.89% against the USD for the 24 hour period ending 23:00GMT, closing at 95.96, as investor sentiment was impacted after the ECB President, Mario Draghi stated that the bank would closely monitor developments in the markets to see if the stronger Euro had an effect on inflation projections and amid weaker-than-forecasted US jobs data.
Earlier oil traded higher as Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected an offer from US Vice President, Joe Biden, to negotiate over Tehran’s nuclear program, reducing prospects for a resolution of the dispute seen as a major risk factor for oil markets.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said it kept production at around 9 million barrels per day last month, helping to maintain OPEC output at close to the group’s official ceiling.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, Crude Oil is trading at 96.13, 0.18% higher from yesterday’s close, as China’s trade surplus narrowed in January.
Crude oil is expected to find support at 95.38, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 94.62. Crude Oil is expected to find its first resistance at 97.05, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 97.96.
Crude Oil is trading just below its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.