Crude Oil prices advanced 1.29% against the USD for the 24 hour period ending 23:00GMT, closing at 101.85, after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a 590,000 barrels drop in oil stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub, last week. However, for the week ended 9 May 2014, total US crude inventories rose by 912,000 barrels to 390.7 million barrels. Oil prices also found some support after eastern Ukraine announced its decision to join Russia following the disputed referendums on Sunday and after Libya revealed that its oil production remained unchanged at 235,000 barrels per day on Tuesday despite reopening its western oilfields on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), in its monthly report, raised its forecast on global crude oil demand by 110,000 bpd to 29.76 million bpd and total oil demand to 91.15 million barrels a day in 2014.
In the Asian session, at GMT0300, Crude Oil is trading at 101.96, 0.11% higher from yesterday’s close, ahead of the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly report on the US crude inventories.
Crude oil is expected to find support at 100.86, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 99.77. Crude oil is expected to find its first resistance at 102.55, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 103.15.
Crude oil is trading above its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.