Crude oil loses momentum on stronger dollar

The WTI crude oil price failed to surpass the 20-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $70.29 and stabilized at $69.75. The price was rejected at the SMA, currently positioned at $70.36, and retreated to $69.75 due to weak housing data from the US.

The US Bureau of Economic Analysis released positive news regarding GDP for the first quarter, revising it upwards to an annualized rate of 2%. Jobless Claims for the week ending June 23 dropped to 239K, surpassing market expectations and the previous figure of 265K.

The larger-than-expected drop in oil stocks and strong economic data from the US are supporting the WTI. However, Pending Home Sales declined by 2.7% in May, souring the market’s mood.

The Federal Reserve’s Core Personal Consumption Expenditures data may be additional excuses for the Fed to continue hiking, which shouldn’t be good news for oil prices. The near-term outlook for WTI is neutral, with flat Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD). Support levels are identified at $69.00, followed by Wednesday’s low of $67.10 and the $66.50 zone.

If the price surpasses this level, the next resistance areas are around $70.50 and the psychological mark of $71.00.