• • • Peek Into Crude oil Future Through Futures • • •
* March 18, 2017
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of March 14, 2017.
Crude oil: Currently net long 457k, down 75k.
Spot West Texas Intermediate crude fell another 2.9 percent from last week’s close before buyers showed up Tuesday. Wednesday’s EIA report further helped sentiment. The daily chart was so oversold it probably would not take much to tempt dip buyers. And they showed up.
The crude rallied 1.7 percent for the week, and is back above the 200-day moving average – now no longer rising. Resistance is galore, including still-dropping shorter-term averages as well as the 50-day. The area of interest lies just north of $52, which was broken last week. The weekly chart has room to continue to head lower.
The latest EIA report showed crude stocks fell by 237,000 barrels to 528.2 million barrels. The prior week was a record.
Gasoline and distillate stocks continued to decline – down 3.1 million barrels and 4.2 million barrels to 246.3 million barrels and 157.3 million barrels, respectively. In the last four weeks, gasoline inventory dropped by 12.8 million barrels, and in the last five distillates by 13.4 million barrels.
Crude imports fell – by 745,000 barrels per day to 7.4 million b/d. Production, on the other hand, rose by 21,000 b/d to 9.1 mb/d. And refinery utilization fell eight-tenths of a point to 85.1 percent.
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
