WTI flat-lined around $53 mark

WTI crude oil now seems to have entered a consolidative phase and has been oscillating within a narrow trading range around the $53.00/barrel mark. 

Market seems to have digested Wednesday's EIA report that showed the first weekly decline in the US crude supplies, following a rise in each of the previous three weeks. The report showed domestic crude inventories fell 2.2 million barrels for the week ended April 7 but failed to lend additional support to oil prices. 

   •  Oil: Inventories set to decline – HSBC

The EIA weekly report also revealed a rise of 36,000 barrels per day in last week’s total US crude production, taking the total production to 9.235 million barrels a day and collaborated towards restricting any further up-side. 

Meanwhile, in its monthly report released Wednesday, OPEC reaffirmed that the combined output from its members continued to fall in March. The optimism surrounding the production cut, however, got negated by a rise in OPEC's 2017 forecast for supply growth in the US to 200,000 barrels a day.

Investors also seems to have largely ignored the news that Paris-based International Energy Agency's (IEA), in its latest monthly report, has slashed the global oil demand growth for this year.

   •  IEA monthly report: Oil market is now 'very close' to reaching a balance

Focus now shifts to the Baker Hughes Rig Counts report, due for release on Friday. In the meantime, the US Dollar price-dynamics could be the only factor influencing movement for the dollar-denominated commodity, oil.