Profit Taking And Growth Fears Weigh On Crude Today

Oil prices have been trending down during the APAC session and are now trading close to their intraday lows. On Friday WTI rose 2.2% and Brent 2.4% after Russia announced it would cut output in response to sanctions but today global growth concerns have come to the surface again. Profit taking is adding to this move with WTI down 1% to around $78.95/bbl and Brent is down 0.9% to $85.60, close to intraday lows.

• WTI reached a high of $80 today followed by a low $78.86. Initial resistance is at $80.33 but $83.14 is key. Brent hit a high of $86.64 today followed by a low of $85.46. $86.90 is initial resistance and $89 is the bull trigger. Brent is just above the 100-day simple moving average, whereas WTI is just below.
• After Russia announced it would cut its output by 500kbd in March, OPEC+ suggested that it wouldn’t increase its production to make up the shortfall.
• Later the focus is likely to be on Fed Governor Bowman ahead of US CPI on Tuesday, as data is scarce. US January CPI data is expected to show a further moderation in inflation. Concerns that tightening has a lot further to go in the US continue to make markets nervous.
• Also both OPEC and the International Energy Agency will publish their monthly reports on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.