WTI supported at $ 57 ahead of US drilling report

• USD weakness to boost further upside.
• Political tensions in Middle East remain supportive.
• Eyes on US rigs count data.

WTI (oil futures on NYMEX) extends its bullish consolidative mode near multi-month tops into a fourth day today, as the bulls remain on the defensive ahead of the weekly US drilling activity report.

WTI: A test of $ 58 on the cards?

The black gold appears to have caught a fresh bid-wave over the last hour, as the US dollar sees aggressive selling pressure against its main competitors, knocking-off the USD index to a five-day low of 94.30, down -0.9% on the day. A weaker US dollar makes the USD-denominated oil cheaper for the buyers in foreign currencies.

Moreover, the sentiment around oil remains underpinned amid ongoing political tensions surrounding the Middle-East, which raise supply disruption concerns. According to the latest reports, the Saudi Arabian King Salman is preparing to step down and hand over the powers to his son, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

Furthermore, markets remain expectant of a bullish US rigs count data, especially after the rigs count fell by most in a week since May 2016 last week. At the time of writing, WTI trades +0.17% higher at $ 57.25, while Brent gains 0.25% to $64.09.

WTI Technical Levels

Higher-side levels: 57.69 (Nov 7 high), $ 57.91 (multi-month highs), $ 58.50 (psychological levels).

Lower-side levels: 56.70 (Nov 9 low), 56.00 (key support), 55.66 (Nov 6 low).