Oil extends freefall, tanks above 1%

FXStreet (Mumbai) - WTI Oil futures on NYMEX gave back gains from the early Asian session and resumed its slide below USD 48 as fears over a global oversupply returned to the oil market after record US stockpiles.

Back below USD 48/ barrel

Currently, WTI oil trades 1.44% lower at USD 47.76/ barrel, heading towards fresh one week lows hit earlier in this week. Crude oil prices declined oil inventories in the US spiked by 6.33 million barrels in the week ending January 30, well above the 3.75 million barrels that analysts had expected. At a total of 413.1 million, the stockpile reached the highest level on records available through 1982, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.

The EIA report came a day later the American Petroleum Institute data showed that US crude stockpiles increased over 6 million barrels during the measured week.

Crude Oil Technical Levels

WTI oil has an immediate resistance which stands at 48.50 levels above which gains could be extended to 49 levels. Meanwhile, support is seen at 46.60 levels from here losses could be extended to sub 45.80 levels.