WTI rises after the reopening of China, stable around $74.80

• Oil prices pared some of last week’s 8% losses and rose 1.70%.
• The reopening of China and the weakening of the US dollar keep WTI on the rise, although far from the highs of the day ($76.69).
• WTI Price Analysis: A break above $75.00 could pave the way towards the 20 day EMA.

The Western Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark for US crude oil, rose close to 2% on Monday after the reopening of Chinese borders, which strengthened the prospects for demand for the fuel amid recessionary fears that hang over it. . At the time of writing this report, WTI is trading at $74.83 per barrel.

Oil traders’ sentiment was boosted by news out of China and hopes for a less aggressive Fred. Consequently, the dollar weakened, as evidenced by the drop of the Dollar Index by 0.81%, to $103,069.

Although today’s price action suggests that WTI prices could resume higher, traders should take into account last week’s losses of more than 8%, which were the most significant weekly declines since 2016.

Despite the fact that the opening of China’s borders after three years of being closed was celebrated by investors, fears that it could trigger a rebound in Covid-19 cases keep investors refraining from committing to higher-value assets. risk.

Meanwhile, inflation expectations for the US economy revealed by a New York Fed survey preliminary showed that one-year ahead consumer inflation slowed to 5% in December, at its lowest reading since July 2021. However, three-year estimates were unchanged at 3%, while longer-term estimates rose 0.1% to 2.4%.

WTI Price Analysis: Technical Perspective

From a technical point of view, WTI reached a high of $76.90 per barrel on Monday. Suppose WTI makes a daily close above the Jan 6 high at $75.44. In that case, oil bulls could resume challenging the 50-day EMA at $79.35, before testing a three-month downtrend line drawn from the November highs at $93.73, which passes around $79.85, before WTI hits $80.00 a barrel.