WTI remains stuck in range around $75, awaits OPEC+ decision

• WTI hovers around $75 as OPEC+ delays talks.
• Infighting with OPEC+ lifted US oil above $76 on Thursday.
• WTI’s fate hinges on the much-awaited OPEC+ verdict.

WTI (futures on Nymex) is fluctuating between gains and losses so far this Friday, although keeping its range around the $75 mark, awaiting the decision from the OPEC and its allies (OPEC+) meeting for the next direction.

The US oil rallied 2.5% to renew fresh two-and-a-half-year highs at $76.22 a day before after infighting between the members of the alliance fuelled anxiety and spurred the prices. According to sources, UAE was unhappy and apparently blocked a plan for an immediate easing of cuts and their extension to the end of 2022.

Meanwhile, it was reported that “Saudi Arabia and Russia had reached a preliminary agreement, which would see output rise by 0.4 million bpd a month from August to December 2021 to meet rising global demand,” per Reuters.

Investors took the delay in the OPEC+ talks as an excuse to take profits off the table, especially after the solid upsurge. Therefore, the black gold fell nearly $1 and now extends the consolidative mode amid jittery markets.

Concerns over the Delta covid strain flareups also keep the demand for the higher-yielding oil largely subdued. At the time of writing, WTI trades modestly flat at $75.06, on track to book the sixth straight weekly gain.

WTI technical levels to consider