WTI drops to multi-day lows near $80.00 ahead of API

• Prices of the WTI add to Monday’s decline near $80.00.
• Auspicious Chinese data lent initial support to crude oil.
• The API will release its weekly report on inventories.

Renewed selling pressure drags prices of the barrel of the American reference for the sweet light crude oil to the vicinity of the key $80.00 mark on Tuesday.

WTI looks at weekly inventories, Fed

Prices of the barrel of the West Texas Intermediate extends the weekly leg lower and put the $80.00 mark to the test after traders seem to have already digested the positive readings from the Chinese calendar released during early trade.

However, the likelihood of an economic slowdown appears to have encourage bears to return to the markets in light of firmer conviction of a 25 bps rate hike by the Fed at the May 3 gathering.

In addition, the likeliness that exports of crude oil from the port of Ceyhan (Turkey) could resume their activity in the very near term also lent extra wings to the selling mood in the commodity.

Later in the NA session, the API will report on US crude oil inventories in the week to April 14 ahead of the EIA’s report on Wednesday.

WTI significant levels

At the moment the barrel of WTI is down 0.62% at $80.43 and a breach of $79.05 (monthly low April 3) would open the door to $66.86 (low March 24) and then $64.41 (2023 low March 20). On the upside, the next hurdle is located at $82.56 (200-day SMA) followed by $83.37 (2023 high April 12) and finally $92.90 (monthly high November 7 2022).