Oil prices fell on Tuesday, paring earlier gains, as expectations that major producers will not boost supply any time soon were outweighed by worries over slowing demand amid a spike in the Delta variant of coronavirus infections.
Brent crude was down 51 cents, or 0.7%, at $69.00 per barrel as of 0703 GMT, after rising as high as $69.77 earlier in the session.
U.S. West Intermediate crude (WTI) slid 52 cents, or 0.8%, to $66.77 a barrel, after reaching $67.66 earlier.
Japan was set to extend its state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions to Sept. 12 and widen curbs to seven more prefectures, as COVID-19 cases spike while cases are set to "rise substantially" in Sydney in the coming weeks despite a prolonged lockdown, authorities said on Tuesday. ,
WTI falls below $67.00 on weaker demand concerns, USD rebound
Crude oil prices trade on a lower note, albeit with less aggressive momentum on Tuesday. The prices opened at a higher level but failed to sustain the momentum and moving to trade further lower
The appreciative move in the US Dollar Index (DXY), which indicates the performance of the greenback against six major rivals, keeps the gain limited for the black gold for the time being. The US dollar was last seen trading at 92.75, up 0.10% for the day.
The main trend is down according to the daily swing chart. A trade through $65.00 will reaffirm the downtrend. A move through $69.39 will change the main trend to up.
The minor range is $65.00 to $69.39. The market is currently straddling its retracement zone at $67.20 to $66.68.
On the upside, resistance comes in at $69.26 to $70.27.
On the downside, the key support zone is $65.51 to $63.32. This zone stopped the selling at $65.00 on August 9 and at $64.49 on July 20. This zone is also controlling the near-term direction of the market.
Reference: Reuters, FXStreet, FXEmpire
Thai
Eng