WTI drops sharply below $44 after API data

After rising to its weekly high at $44.44, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate came under pressure in the late NA session after the API data revealed a surprising buildup in crude oil stocks in the U.S.

According to the latest weekly report released by The American Petroleum Institute (API), crude oil stocks increased by 850,000 barrels on a weekly basis after decreasing by 2.72 million barrels in the previous week. Following the data, the barrel of WTI lost around 50 cents in a matter of minutes and is now trading at $43.70, still up 0.75% on the day.

Earlier in the day, the barrel of WTI took advantage of the weak USD environment and was able to build on its gains from yesterday. However, the upsurge remained fragile as it hadn't been supported by a fundamental development. In fact, a recent story by Reuters claimed that OPEC was in no rush to deepen the oil production cut.

• OPEC in no rush on deeper oil output cut - Reuters

$44.45 (daily high) could be seen as the initial hurdle for the barrel of WTI ahead of $45 (psychological level) and $46.50 (Jun. 14 high). On the downside, technical supports are located at $43.30 (daily low), $42.60 (Jun. 26 low) and $42.05/00 (Jun. 21 low/psychological level).