Commodity Market: US Crude Oil snaps six-day streak of gains as China lowers crude import quotas

Futures on US West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil snapped a six-day streak of gains on Thursday, as China lowered the first batch of import quotas for 2022 to independent refiners by 11% below the comparable year-ago quota. Some analysts expressed concerns that the Chinese government could take stricter actions against refiners.

US Crude Futures rose almost 1% on Wednesday after the official report by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude oil inventories had decreased by 3.576 million barrels during the week ended December 24th. It has been the fifth consecutive weekly period of decline. Analysts on average had anticipated a smaller drop – by 3.143 million barrels.

Oil prices have also been supported by measures taken by governments to cushion the impact of record high coronavirus infections, especially in the United States, Europe, Australia and South America, on economic growth. Some of those included a relaxation of testing rules.

Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) will hold a meeting on January 4th to decide whether to stick to an agreement to increase production in February. Yesterday Saudi Arabia’s King Salman said that an OPEC+ pact was “essential” for oil market stability.

As of 10:07 GMT on Thursday WTI Crude Oil Futures were edging down 0.27% to trade at $76.35 per barrel, while moving within a daily range of $76.10-$76.98 per barrel. WTI Crude Oil Futures were set to register an annual gain, while being up 57.36%.

At the same time, Brent Oil Futures were losing 0.86% on the day to trade at $78.56 per barrel, while moving within a daily range of $78.42-$79.66 per barrel. Brent Oil Futures were also poised to register an annual gain, while being up 51.95%.

Daily Pivot Levels (traditional method of calculation) – WTI Crude Oil Futures

Central Pivot – $76.43
R1 – $77.50
R2 – $78.44
R3 – $79.51
R4 – $80.58

S1 – $75.49
S2 – $74.42
S3 – $73.48
S4 – $72.54

Daily Pivot Levels (traditional method of calculation) – Brent Oil Futures

Central Pivot – $79.19
R1 – $80.21
R2 – $81.19
R3 – $82.21
R4 – $83.24

S1 – $78.21
S2 – $77.19
S3 – $76.21
S4 – $75.24