Oil stuck in the middle, WTI testing north of $57.00

• Barrel prices remain constrained as energies investors await further impetus.
• Crude prices have faced a steep decline recently, but last Tuesday may have found an interim bottom.

US crude oil barrels are trading just above 57.00 in the early week's action, trading tightly within last Friday's high/low range.

Oil markets look set to have found the bottom of a six-week losing streak, though plenty of time remains for the bears to regain control. Oil markets initially belly-flopped some six weeks ago after the US walked back the totality of new sanctions on Iran, which initially sought to lock Iran out of global oil markets in totality, but the issuance of oil purchasing waivers by the US  for key countries and oil purchasers effectively de-fanged President Trump's own tariff policies, and a months-long run-up in oil prices on fears of supply constraints in the Middle East turned into a six-week plummet.

Prices have recovered for now, but bullish action remains on the anemic side despite promises from OPEC+ to begin slashing barrel production from December, promising to drop as much as 1.8 million barrels per day from their daily production totals. Bullish momentum is likely remaining constrained in the face of another record build-up of US crude supplies, with American barrel reserves punching into record highs as US crude producers pull more barrels out of the ground than domestic demand can possibly hope to keep up with.

WTI Technical Levels