August Nymex WTI prices are trading in negative territory Wednesday as the market digests Tuesday’s testimony by US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. WTI prices had initially slumped on Bernanke’s speech, falling back sharply to intra-day lows of $87.42 a barrel as it became apparent that the remarks contained no fresh concrete promises for quantitative easing (QE). Following the initial set back, WTI prices then managed to recover the losses as market participants began to analyze the overall tone of the Senate hearing, with some taking the view that some additional QE was going to be inevitable given the steep uphill tasks facing the US economy. In terms of supply, US crude inventories fell more than analysts expected last week, and oil product inventories were mixed as gasoline stocks fell unexpectedly and distillates rose, according to data released from the American Petroleum Institute (API) yesterday. WTI has retreated back from session highs of $89.21 posted early on in Asia, and is now currently on session lows trading $88.63 a barrel, down 59 cents from the NY close.
EasyForexNews Research Team