Oil struggles for direction amid geopolitical tensions

WTI is in the red territory after losing -0.39% on Monday, hovering around $72.50. The fundamentals for crude oil are still weakening, and output is still going strong worldwide. The supply routes between Europe and Asia are still being impeded by the Houthi rebels.

Earlier on Monday, US crude oil showed weakness, hitting a near-term low of $71.40 before rising to $72.50 in response to a new missile strike on a civilian cargo ship in Yemen by the Houthis.

Ongoing energy market concerns continue to fret about potential supply chain disruptions, and the potential for production cuts from the OPEC to take a bite out of global energy markets’ ability to meet fossil fuel demand, but record crude oil production from key non-OPEC countries such as the US and a massive buildup in petroleum gasoline and other crude oil derivatives are hampering barrel traders’ efforts to drive up crude oil costs.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) will be delivering their latest Weekly crude oil Stock counts for the week ended January 12th on Wednesday, followed by the Energy Information Administration’s Natural Gas Storage and crude oil Stocks Change on Thursday.