In light of preliminary figures for crude oil futures markets, traders reduced their open interest positions by nearly 13K contracts on Thursday, reversing two consecutive daily builds. In the same line, volume shrunk by around 30.2K contracts, also following two builds in a row.

WTI FACES INITIAL SUPPORT AROUND $40.00/BBL

Prices of the barrel of WTI briefly tested the $40.00 area on Thursday before rebounding. The move, however, was on the back of shrinking open interest and volume, leaving the idea of further retracement still in place in the near-term.