May Nymex crude futures bounced back yesterday fuelled by a sharp S&P500 recovery which accelerated as the index turned positive towards the london close. The contract jumped back from early lows in NY of $102.06 back up through the 50day MA at $103.73 to highs of $105.49 before settling around $105.23. Asian trading has been relatively calm with the crude price trading around $105.00 this morning. ICE Brent jumped from $121.70 to $125.63 extending its premium over WTI to over $20.5, just short of early Feb premium highs of $20.7. Latest CFTC data showed money managers increasing net longs in the ICE Brent contract by 6,490 contracts although this was offset by a rise in producer net shorts of 9,720. OPEC production for March rose by 145.000 bpd and Iraqi exports rose to highs not seen since 2003, as Iranian output fell by 30,000bpd. Despite this, crude remains firm at the start of Q2 ahead of this evening’s API report where analysts are looking for a build of around 1.9mmbls. WTI support is at $104.26 and $103.68. resistance is at $106.07 and $106.78. Brent support is at $124.84 and $124.18, resistance at $126.05 and $126.68.
EasyForexNews Research Team