WTI Falls for Third Straight Day, Settles Near $82

Overview

• New York Mercantile Exchange WTI October futures closed lower for a third consecutive session at about $82.23 a barrel, reflecting a short-term downtrend in prices.
• Early trading pushed WTI briefly into the low $79 range before losses narrowed following U.S. weekly petroleum data that showed a small rise in crude inventories and prompted technical buybacks.
• Market participants increasingly judged expanded U.S. economic sanctions on Iran would have only a limited impact on physical oil flows, which added selling pressure.
• Reports that Iran and Oman were negotiating provisional navigation measures for the Strait of Hormuz eased the premium traders place on Gulf supply disruptions and reduced immediate risk pricing.
• The near-term outlook now hinges on whether the reported Hormuz measures are implemented and on coming weekly inventory reports, which could quickly reverse or deepen the current slide.