The EIA is set to release its weekly oil inventory data at 10:30 AM today. Crude oil prices are stable as the market anticipates inventory updates and observes technical trends.<\/p>\n
The latest private data indicated a rise in crude oil by 1.5 million barrels and distillates by 300,000 barrels, while Cushing stocks decreased by 600,000 barrels. Market estimates predict a decrease in crude oil by 0.275 million barrels and an increase in distillates by 0.725 million barrels, with Cushing’s previous week’s change recorded at 0.453 million barrels.<\/p>\n
Currently, crude oil is trading at $63.03, reflecting a decrease of $0.14 from the previous close of $63.17. Technically, the price has dropped below the 100-hour moving average of $64.78. This level, along with the swing area between $63.61 and $65.27, serves as a critical range for determining market direction. Remaining below this zone maintains seller dominance in the short term, while surpassing it could reverse this trend.<\/p>\n
As we await today’s 10:30 AM EIA inventory data on August 13, 2025, crude oil is holding steady near $63. This price level is notably weak for mid-August, especially when we recall prices were above $80 during this same period back in 2023. This weakness points to underlying market concerns beyond simple inventory numbers.<\/p>\n
The market sentiment has been weighed down by reports of softer global demand, particularly after China’s manufacturing PMI for July 2025 dipped to 49.8. This, combined with steady OPEC+ output, has kept sellers active throughout the summer. The end of the peak US driving season is now adding further pressure on prices.<\/p>\n
The private data released late yesterday showed a surprise crude build of 1.5 million barrels, which aligns with this bearish outlook. However, the market is still estimating a small draw of 275,000 barrels from the official EIA figures today. A discrepancy here could spark significant volatility for traders positioned around this key report.<\/p>\n
From a technical standpoint, the price remains below the 100-hour moving average, which now sits near $64.78. We see the zone between $63.61 and $65.27 as the key area defining risk in the near term. As long as prices stay below this ceiling, sellers have the advantage, making bearish positions like buying put options or selling call spreads attractive strategies.<\/p>\n
For the coming weeks, traders should watch for any confirmation of inventory builds from the EIA. Another official build, similar to the 2.1 million barrel surprise we saw in July 2025, would reinforce the bearish trend and could target price levels closer to $60. The primary upside risk remains a major supply disruption, such as a significant hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, which could quickly reverse the current sentiment.<\/p>\n
Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Crude oil trades lower as market awaits EIA inventory data; technical levels suggest continued bearish pressure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28969\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}