WTI consolidates around $95.00 after the sharp drop

• WTI has been hit by mixed news surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war on Wednesday and continues to move around the $95.00 region.
• $100 has acted as a ceiling on the day amid optimism from peace talks and ongoing China blockade issues.

Conflicting news on the status of the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, with the FT signaling significant progress towards a possible 15-point peace deal, but The Independent saying Ukraine has rejected a proposal for Russian neutrality, are giving oil investors plenty to think about.

After coming within $1 of retesting the $100 level on Wednesday, WTI futures are trading back in the $95 region, not much above previous session lows and Tuesday’s weekly lows. At time of writing, WTI is trading at $94.92, up 1.22% on the day, and offering some much-needed respite given that prices had fallen over $14 on Monday and Tuesday.

Official US inventory data released recently was bearish, with US crude inventories growing by 4.3 million barrels, well above the expected decline of 1.37 million barrels. Distillate stocks also saw a surprise increase. This, along with the mixed news about the warhas helped crude oil prices avoid further declines as a result of the concerns that lockdowns in China could affect demand.

During the rest of the session, WTI traders will be attentive to the next fed meeting to see if it has any effect on risk appetite, which could affect oil prices.

with the WTI holding steady for now in the $95.00 area and above its 50-day moving average (around $93.00), oil bulls for now they will remain comfortable that the long-term uptrend in play since December 2021 is not over yet. If anything, the recent correction of more than 25% from previous monthly highs has brought prices back to the previous trend.

But the overall risk remains high and further extension of lockdowns in China or progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks could easily see WTI test the $90.00 zone.

WTI technical levels