Oil reaches fresh 2016 highs

Oil prices climbed to fresh year to date highs highs on Tuesday as investors await the API stockpiles weekly report. The American Petroleum Institute is expected to announce a drawdown on Tuesday ahead of the release of Energy of Department data on Wednesday.

West Texas Intermediate crude for July rose 67 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $50.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Terror attacks in Nigeria, the largest African oil producer, have resulted in a production loss of 2 million barrels per day, bringing some relief to the worldwide glut seen since mid last year and underpinning prices.

WTI technical outlook

“Technical readings in the daily chart support such advance, as the RSI indicator is heading north around 68, as the price keeps finding intraday support in a bullish 20 SMA, although the Momentum indicator remains flat above its 100 level,” said Valeria Bednarik, chief analyst at FXStreet. “In the 4 hours chart, the technical indicators have lost upward strength well above their mid-lines, but the price is firmly above its moving averages, supporting some further advances towards the 52.00 price zone.”   

Support levels: 5.20 49.50 48.80. Resistance levels: 50.90 51.65 52.20.