WTI crude oil prices regained some lost ground slightly, despite doubts about U.S. demand

Daocheng Technology Financial News - Thursday (April 25) US market time,WTI crude oilDuring the session, it turned from rising to falling, trading at $82.43 per barrel during the session.

The day before, the United States released its April purchasing managers' index report. The report found that overall business activity was at a four-month low, leading tocrude oil priceIt fell back below $83 a barrel and remains there for now.

Signs of a potential decline in US energy demand and continuing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East pose a dilemma for markets, with both tragic conflicts threatening to disrupt supplies in key producing regions at any time.

The latest figures from the US Energy Information Administration paint a rather mixed picture. Crude inventories have fallen much more sharply than expected, but this appears to be mainly due tooilExports, not an increase in domestic demand. The outlook there is bleaker, with gasoline inventories falling much less than expected.

The world's largest economy is grappling with the prospect that interest rates will have to stay high for longer, which will delay economic activity and thus potentially reduce energy demand. According to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's "Fedwatch" tool, the current expectation of a 25 basis point cut in interest rates will not be fully reflected until September.

Like all other markets, the oil market was affected by Friday's series of inflation data on personal consumption and spending, which are notoriously favoured by the Federal Reserve and will certainly be seen as a guide to the outlook for monetary policy. Closely linked to the oil market, the number of US oil rigs at Baker-Hughes will also be released on Friday.

technical analysis

(WTI crude oil daily chart)

The benchmark price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI) is hovering near the downtrend line seen since mid-2022, which currently provides support very close to the market at $82.77.

In recent days, near the 50-day simple moving average, the market has shown a trend towards a rebound, which is currently slightly below the current price of $81.16. Below this is the key pullback support at $79.97, which the market has not fallen below since mid-March.

On the upside side, the bulls are ready for a return to the price before the sharp decline on April 17. The top of that decline currently provides resistance at $85.33. Given the current moderate daily volatility range, it is difficult to see a test of this in the near term. The psychological resistance level at $84.00 is closer and the bulls may try to consolidate above that point before attempting to move on.

IG's own sentiment indicators show that traders are rather bullish at current levels, and the market remains in a long-term broad uptrend from December lows that seems unlikely to be challenged anytime soon.

At 23:49 Beijing time, WTI crude oil was quoted at $82.44 per barrel, down 0.45%.