Oil ends 8 Days of Price Gains ahead of the 4th of July

The price of crude oil futures fell lower during the Asian trade session. This snapped an eight day win streak. Oil was moving higher thanks to news that that the seemingly unrelenting rise in US production might be running out of gas.

The global benchmark, Brent crude, as of 1:50 am GMT, was at $49.43 per barrel. This is down 25 cents, or 0.5 percent from the previous session. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil futures were down 22 cents, or 0.5 percent, to trade at $46.85 a barrel.

The drop in the price of oil, comes after both benchmarks, rose nearly twelve percent from their recent lows touched on June 21.

There is also today’s American July 4^th Independence Day holiday. Many traders closed out positions before the holiday, this morning. On a technical note, Brent crude is also facing technical resistance near $50 per barrel. This is a key pivot level to watch.

Sentiment in the Oil Markets are Changing

Sentiment is also changing. From late May and most of June sentiment was pretty bearish as output in the United States rose. This caused traders of the back gold to have doubts over the ability of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut enough production to normalize the supply glut in the global economy.

We are now seeing a shift in trader sentiment. This began towards the end of June. US data, at that point, showed a dip in US oil output. This was a slight fall in drilling for new crude deposits.

In a note from the ANZ Bank, this morning, analysts think that the dip in US production was “a small but significant shift in the dynamics in the oil market.” The note also said that this would take a bit of pressure off OPEC’s efforts to rein in the ever mounting global over-supply.