In light of advanced figures from CME Group for Crude Oil futures markets, open interest went down for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, now by almost 23K contracts. In the same line, volume dropped by around 179.4K contracts following two consecutive daily builds.

WTI keeps the narrow range below $40.00/bbl

Prices of the barrel of the West Texas Intermediate are expected to extend the consolidative mood in the upper end of the recent range against the backdrop of shrinking trade conditions and the absence of a clear direction in both open interest and volume. As usual, the key $40.00 mark per barrel remains a key barrier for crude oil bulls in the short-term horizon.