Natural Gas, WTI Oil, Brent Oil Forecasts – WTI Oil Gains Ground Despite Rising Crude Inventories

Natural Gas Attempts To Climb Back Above $3.20 Ahead Of EIA Report

Natural gas made another attempt to settle below the $3.05 level but lost momentum and rebounded above $3.15.

Traders prepare for the EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report, which will be released tomorrow. Analysts expect that working gas in storage decreased by -256 Bcf from the previous week. The last report showed that working gas in storage declined by -360 Bcf amid strong demand.

The report will have a material impact on natural gas prices, so traders should be prepared for fast moves.

From the technical point of view, natural gas found strong support above the $3.00 level. In case natural gas manages to settle above the $3.25 level, it will move towards the nearest resistance at $3.50 – $3.55. On the support side, a successful test of the support at $3.00 – $3.25 will open the way to the test of the next support at $2.70 – $2.75.

WTI Oil Tests Resistance At $65.50 – $66.00 As Traders Focus On EIA Data

WTI oil gains ground as traders react to the EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report. The report indicated that crude inventories increased by +8.5 million barrels from the previous week, compared to analyst forecast of +0.8 million barrels. At current levels, crude inventories are about 3% below the five-year average for this time of the year.

Gasoline inventories grew by +1.2 million barrels, compared to analyst consensus of -0.4 million barrels. Distillate fuel inventories declined by -2.7 million barrels from the previous week.

Crude oil imports increased by 604,000 bpd from the previous week, averaging 6.8 million bpd. Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged 6.3 million bpd. Rising crude oil imports pushed inventories higher.

Domestic oil production increased from 13.215 million bpd to 13.713 million bpd, above the four-week average of 13.589 million bpd. High domestic oil production is bearish for oil prices, but traders are not worried about production numbers amid rising geopolitical premium for oil.

Strategic Petroleum Reserve remained unchanged at 415.2 million barrels as U.S. did not buy oil for strategic reserves.

Currently, WTI oil is trying to settle above the resistance at $65.50 – $66.00. In case this attempt is successful, WTI oil will head towards the next resistance level, which is located in the $70.00 – $70.50 range. RSI remains in the moderate territory, so there is plenty of room to gain momentum in the near term.

Brent Oil Tests New Highs Amid Geopolitical Tensions

Brent oil is moving higher as traders stay focused on U.S. – Iran tensions. U.S. President Donald Trump said that he could send another aircraft carrier to the Middle East.

U.S. and Iran are expected to resume negotiations about Iran’s nuclear program, and Trump wants to put more pressure on the country to get a deal.

The encouraging Non Farm Payrolls report from the U.S. has also provided support to Brent oil. The report showed that the U.S. labor market remained in decent shape, which was bullish for oil prices.

Brent oil is trying to settle above the resistance at $69.50 – $70.00. If Brent oil settles above the psychologically important $70.00 level, it will head towards the next resistance at $73.50 – $74.00.

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