WTI consolidates gains above $82.30, investors await Chinese inflation data

• WTI consolidates its recent gains around $82.35 on Wednesday.
• EIA forecasted 1.9% GDP growth in 2023, up from 1.5% in its monthly report.
• China's July trade data fuels concern about the oil demand outlook.

Western Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around the $82.30 mark so far on Wednesday. WTI bounces off the $79.60 low and reclaims above the $82.00 area from the upbeat economic outlook. However, the downbeat Chinese data and risk-averse market could weigh on WTI prices.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected in a monthly report that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will increase by 1.9% in 2023, up from 1.5% in the previous forecast. EIA added that crude prices have risen since June, owing mostly to prolonged voluntary limits in Saudi Arabian output as well as increased global demand.

That said, Saudi Arabia will extend its voluntary oil output cut of one million barrels per day (bpd) through September. In September, Saudi production is anticipated to be around 9 million bpd. In the meantime, Russia's oil exports will decrease by 300,000 bps in September, according to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

However, the downbeat Chinese data exerts some pressure on WTI prices. That said, the dollar value of China’s exports YoY in July plunged -14.5%, worse than expectations of -12.5% in June, while Imports dropped -12.4% YoY from -5%. The figures fuel concern about the economic slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

Moving on, oil traders monitor the Chinese inflation data later in the day. Also, the EIA Crude Oil Stocks Change for the week ending August 4 will be released. The key events to watch are the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index (PPI) from the US and China later this week. These events could significantly impact the USD-denominated WTI price. Oil traders will take cues from the data and find trading opportunities around the WTI price.