WTI stays bid above $52.00

Crude oil prices are trading on a positive fashion on Monday, pushing the barrel of West Texas Intermediate above the $52.00 mark.

WTI up on geopolitical jitters

Prices for the black gold remain underpinned by ongoing disruptions in crude oil supply in the Middle East, all amidst unabated concerns around Iraq and Kurdistan.

Adding to the upbeat mood around WTI, driller Baker Hughes reported on Friday the third consecutive drop in US oil rig count, this time by 6 to 736 US active oil rigs, while US oil production dropped to 8.4 million barrels during the week ended on October 13 according to the latest report by the EIA (Wednesday).

Further out, traders remain optimistic following last week’s comments by OPEC officials, noting the effectiveness of the current output cut deal in rebalancing the oil market.

News from the positioning space noted oil speculative net longs dropped to 3-week lows during the week ended on October 17, as shown by the latest CFTC report.

WTI significant levels

At the moment the barrel of WTI is up 0.69% at $52.20 and a break above $52.37 (high Oct.16) would open the door to $52.86 (high Sep.28) and finally $53.76 (high Apr.12). On the flip side, the immediate support lines up at $51.15 (10-day sma) seconded by $50.70 (low Oct.20) and then $50.08 (38.2% Fibo of $45.58-$52.86).