WTI consolidates the upside around $ 57 mark ahead of EIA data

• Persisting Gulf geopolitical tensions, falling US stocks remain supportive.
• Focus remains on trade, geopolitics and US EIA crude stockpiles data.

WTI (futures on Nymex) is seen extending its Asian consolidative mode into the European trading, having reached four-day tops at 57.47 in the overnight trades.

The black gold continues to derive support from a bigger-than-expected drop in the US crude stockpiles data, as reported by the American Petroleum Institute (API) late Tuesday. The API reports showed that the US crude stocks fell more than expected in the week to July 19, declining by 11 million barrels to 449 million vs. -4 million barrels expected.

Further, the bulls cheer the ongoing Middle East tensions as well as the revived hopes of a US-China trade, after the US-China trade teams agreed to meet next Monday over in-person trade talks. The Gulf tensions, in the face of last week’s seizure of the two British tankers by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, continue to fuel supply disruption concerns and render oil-positive.

All eyes now remain on the US official government’s crude stocks data due to be published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) later today at 1430 GMT for the next direction on the prices.

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