Oil Plummets as Hawkish Fedspeak Shatters Technical Supports
- Fed chair started two days of testimony to lawmakers
- WTI settles below $78 a barrel after falling almost $3
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Oil plunged the most since early January as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish testimony to lawmakers drove the commodity down through multiple layers of technical support.
Powell’s message that the central bank may raise rates faster than expected — and to a higher endpoint — bolstered a bear case built on swelling US stockpiles and a weaker-than-expected economic growth target from China. His message broke a five-day rally for West Texas Intermediate and pushed crude below its 50- and 100- day moving averages.