WTI remains depressed below $73.00 mark, seems vulnerable two-week low

• WTI struggles to gain traction and languishes near a two-week trough touched on Tuesday.
• A surprise rise in US crude inventories and easing Middle East tensions weigh on Oil prices.
• China’s economic woes keep bulls on the sidelines and act as a headwind for the commodity.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US crude Oil prices trade with a mild negative bias below the $73.00 mark during the Asian session on Wednesday and remain within the striking distance of a two-week low touched the previous day. 

Concerns about supply disruptions from the Middle East eased after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted a proposal to tackle disagreements blocking a ceasefire deal in Gaza. Apart from this, a surprise rise in US crude inventories continues undermining Crude Oil prices. 

According to American Petroleum Institute figures released on Tuesday, US crude oil stocks rose by 347,000 barrels in the week ended August 16, which pointed to oversupply in the world's biggest consumer of oil. This comes on top of worries about a slowdown in China – the world's top Oil importer – and further acts as a headwind for the commodity. 

Meanwhile, investors remain concerned about the ongoing clashes between Israel and Hamas, despite the ongoing ceasefire negotiations. Furthermore, Hamas said that the US-backed bridging proposal conveyed at the end of the talks in Doha on Friday was a reversal of what the parties had agreed on in early July, keeping investors on edge.

Apart from this, the prevalent US Dollar (USD) selling bias, fueled by the growing acceptance that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will begin its rate-cutting cycle in September, could lend some support to Crude Oil prices and help limit further losses. Traders now look to the official inventory data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) later today. 

The focus, however, remains on geopolitical developments and the release of the July FOMC meeting minutes. The latter, along with Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday, should offer cues about the US central bank's policy path. This, in turn, will drive the USD and provide a fresh impetus to Crude Oil prices.