WTI rises further above $49.00, up more than 2%

Crude oil prices continued to rise during the American session and reached the highest level in a week. WTI peaked at $49.35, near last week high of $49.40, the immediate resistance. Near the end of the session, it was holding around $49.30, up 2.25%. 

Crude surged despite the EIA report that showed that crude oil stockpiles rose for a second consecutive week in the US, up by 5.88 million barrels, against market's expectations of a 3.23 million build. The impulse came from a positive surprise from a significant decline in gasoline inventories last week, by 8.4 million barrels.

Technical outlook 

The daily chart shows that the commodity is surpassing its 200 DMA by a few cents, whilst technical indicators head sharply higher above their mid-lines, supporting some additional gains ahead, particularly on a break above the mentioned resistance, according to Valeria Bednarik, Chief Analyst at FXStreet. 

“Shorter term, technical readings in the 4 hours chart also lean the scale towards the upside, as the price extended further above anyway horizontal moving averages, whilst technical indicators maintain their strong upward momentum entering overbought territory”, added Bednarik.