WTI: Mildly bid above $41.00 even as US-Iran war fears fade, eyes API stocks
- WTI bounces off intraday low as NYT conveys odds of the US attack on Iran.
- Risk dwindles as vaccine hopes battle virus woes.
- API inventories, risk catalysts will offer short-term direction.
WTI takes a U-turn from the intraday low to $41.68 while flashing a 0.30% gain on a day during early Tuesday. In doing so, the black gold pays attention to the hints concerning the US-Iran tussle while also observing the US dollar pullback.
The New York Times (NYT) recently came out with the news suggesting US President Donald Trump’s intention to attack Iran during the last weeks of his White House dominance. The news offers a sigh of relief to Tehran now as Joe Biden is on his way to the Oval Office.
Read: President Trump sought options for attacking Iran to stop its growing nuclear program
Also affecting the commodity could be the US dollar moves. The US dollar index (DXY) dropped to a one week low yesterday as global markets dumped the greenback amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine hopes. Also negatively affecting the USD and WTI could be the second monthly downbeat prints of the Empire State Manufacturing Index, flashed the previous day.
It should also be noted that the recent bounce of DXY might have taken clues of the worsening virus conditions in the US states and Europe. However, Johnson and Johnson’s start of the late-state trial for the two-dose vaccine and Pfizer’s pilot COVID-19 immunization program challenge the risk-off mood.
Moving on, weekly private inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), prior -5.1M, becomes the only oil-centric figures to watch. Though, the importance of risk catalysts and the US dollar remains high for the energy traders.
Technical analysis
100-day SMA offers immediate support around $40.60/55 ahead of the $40.00 threshold. Meanwhile, $42.50 provides additional resistance than the $42.00 round-figure. The commodity’s ability to stay past-$40.00 keeps buyers hopeful.