WTI fails to recover despite decline in US inventories.

• The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports a decline in inventories in the past week.
• US crude oil imports fall to the lowest level since March 2021.
• WTI Price Analysis: I would resume the bullish path if it breaks above $75.00; otherwise, it would stay lateral.

Western Texas Intermediate (WTI), US crude oil, retreated from the weekly highs and reached $74.32 in the early stages of the New York session. Inventories in the United States (US) fell, although they failed to support the WTI price. At the time of writing these lines, WTI is trading at $73.08 PB.

The US EIA announced that inventories fell, but WTI is still down

Trader sentiment is positive, as evidenced by the rise in US stocks. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed that inventories in the past week fell as refineries ramped up operations after the maintenance period ended. US crude oil imports fell to their lowest level since March 2021.

Digging deeper into the data, crude oil inventories fell by 7.5 million barrels in the week to March 24, to 473.7 million barrels, versus estimates of a 92,000-barrel rise.

Despite the oil shortage, WTI failed to take advantage, while the dollar regained some ground. The dollar index (DXY), which tracks the value of the US dollar (USD) against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.31% to 102.745. This makes oil prices more expensive for international buyers.

Following an arbitration decision, the Norwegian oil company DNO began to halt production at the Kurdistan fields.

WTI Technical Analysis

After recovering from trading near year-round lows, WTI is consolidating within the 20 and 50 day EMAs at $72.45-$74.85. For a continuation higher, WTI needs to break above $75.00, with risks to the upside around the 100 day EMA at $77.90. On the other hand, WTI would retest the year-old lows at $64.41 once it broke below $72.00 BP.