The Oct WTI trading session settled at 68.71(+1.04), had a high of 68.96, a low of 67.31. Cash price is at 67.63 (-1.51), while open interest came in at 249,665. Lower on the day by 1.54% CLV traded below its 200 day (77.6), its 50 day (77.09), its 20 day (73.92) and its 7 day (70.73) moving averages. Crude recovered some of last week’s losses after hitting fresh 52 week lows. Crude was supported by news of a strengthening tropical storm (with hurricane potential) in the Gulf of Mexico heading towards Louisiana, this region hosts roughly 60% of U.S. refining capacity. Reuters has reported that Exxon, Chevron and Shell have evacuated staff and paused their operations in anticipation that this storm will be elevated to a hurricane. In my opinion weaker Chinese demand, rising U.S. production combined with weakening U.S. economic sentiment and high crude inventories are setting the tone for futures as of late. From my perspective there seems to be technical support around $67, but we’re still seeing lower daily highs than bulls would like to see. I think if we’re able to see bigger draws in the CPI this week we could find support above $70 that could help regain a base above that price hurdle.
