FxWirePro- Crude oil trade idea

Crude oil prices trade weak on board-based US dollar weakness. It hits a low of $72.21 and currently trading around $72.48.

It was shown, as a report by the Energy Information Administration showed that U.S. crude oil inventories rose sharply by 3.463 million barrels marking the first in nine weeks compared to market expectations of 3.2 million barrels. In the meantime, at Cushing, Oklahoma, crude stocks increased to 326,000 barrels.

Gasoline inventories surged to 2.957 million barrels much higher than the expected increase of 1.5 million barrels. Distillate, which includes diesel as well as heating oil, declined at a much higher level of 4.994 million barrels, more than double the expected level of 2.1 million barrels. Imports of crude rose by 532,000 barrels a day, and this led to further growth in overall inventories. This may be a sign of lesser demand and, consequently, could affect crude oil prices and policies of the market in the long run.

Price Resistance and Support Levels

The near-term resistance is around $73.10; any breach above this level could push prices higher to $73.69/$74/$75/$76.59/$77.55/$80. On the downside, immediate support is at $72 violation below targets  $70.84/$70/$69/$68/$65.50.

 It is good to sell on rallies around $73.18-20 with a stop-loss of around $74 and a target price of $70.