WTI settles below $46 ahead of OPEC, non-OPEC meeting

Crude oil prices spent the last day of the week under pressure, pushing the barrel of West Texas Intermediate to a fresh weekly low below the $46 handle. As of writing, the barrel of WTI is trading at $45.60, losing $1.3, or 2.75%, on the day.

On the back of the weakening greenback and decreasing crude oil inventories in the U.S., the barrel of WTI was able to reach its 2-week peak at $47.55 on Thursday. However, with today's drop, it's headed for a negative weekly close as the rally couldn't sustain its momentum.

Today's data from the United States showed that oil rig count in the U.S., released by Baker Hughes, dropped to 764 from 765 in the previous week. However, investors remain hesitant to take advantage of the cool down seen in the U.S. oil production since OPEC nations started to go over their previously agreed quotas in June. According to a recent report by Reuters, Kuwait's oil minister announced that oil ministers of OPEC and non-OPEC producers will be meeting in Saint Petersburg in Russia on July 22 to assess the compliance with the recent output cut resolution.

Technical outlook

$47.55 (Jul. 20 high) could be seen as the initial resistance for the barrel of WTI ahead of $48.20 (Jul. 6 high) and $50 (psychological level). On the downside, supports align at $45 (psychological level/Jul. 13 low), $44.05 (Jun. 19 low) and $42.75 (Jun. 20 low).