WTI remains confined in a tight range near $57 mark

• Low risk-appetite on Monday hurts the demand for commodities.
• Expectations over OPEC/non-OPEC output cut deal extension remains as the primary catalyst.

Crude oil prices are struggling to find direction on Monday with the barrel of West Texas Intermediate moving sideways in a narrow band near the $57 handle. At the moment, the barrel of WTI is trading at $56.95, up 20 cents, or 0.4%, on the day.

Earlier in the session, OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said that global cuts were the only viable option to restore the stability in the oil market. Barkindo further added that the global oil demand remained robust. Moreover, Omani Oil Minister told reporters that he was confident that OPEC would extend the output cut deal until the end of 2018. Moreover, the latest monthly data released by OPEC revealed that the production in Venezuela dropped to its lowest level in nearly 30 years at 1.955 million bpd in October.

• Oman OilMin: Confident output cuts deal will be extended until end-2018
• OPEC Sec Gen Barkindo: Oil market rebalancing at accelerating pace

Nevertheless, none of these headlines allowed the barrel of WTI to extend its rally as a negative market sentiment on Monday kept the investors away from highly volatile assets. 

Technical levels to consider

A daily close above $57 (psychological level) could allow for further gains toward $57.90 (Nov. 8 high) and $59 (Jul. 1 2015 high). On the downside, supports could be seen at $56.40 (Nov. 8 low), $55 (psychological level) and $54 (20-DMA).