- Summary:
- Crude oil price is little changed despite a drop in US crude oil stocks, as traders prefer to wait for the FOMC decision before positioning.
Crude oil price on the Brent benchmark was little changed this Wednesday, following the release of crude oil inventories report that showed a drawdown of 4.1million barrels for the week ended July 23.
This figure, reported by the Energy Information Administration, showed that inventories fell more than expected (-2.6m barrels). The previous week, crude oil stockpiles increased by 2.1million barrels.
The drawdown occurred as gasoline production increased to an average of 9.8million barrels, fueled by an increase in movement during the summer holidays. Crude oil imports also dropped by 0.6million barrels when compared with the previous week.
However, traders preferred not to act on the report but rather to wait for the outcome of the FOMC’s meeting.
Crude oil price on the Brent benchmark is up marginally by 0.07% as of writing.
Technical Outlook for Crude Oil
The crude oil daily candle touched off the channel’s lower border but was rejected as cautious trading prevails ahead of the FOMC decision. Any further advance in crude oil prices requires that bulls break the resistance barrier posed by the channel’s lower edge and the 75.52 price mark. If this move succeeds, the pathway to 77.93 opens once more. 80.00 remains the price to attain for bulls seeking to set new 2021 highs.
On the other hand, rejection at the current resistance could initiate a selloff, with 73.34 in the line of sights for bears. If the corrective decline continues, 71.44 and 70.01 come into the picture as additional downside targets.
Brent Crude: Daily Chart
