Oil turns lower, drops to session low at $44.65

After an attempted tepid recovery to $45.00 mark, WTI crude oil tuned back into negative territory and has now dropped to a fresh low level. 

Currently trading around $44.65-70 band, oil is trending lower for fifth straight session and is seen building on to Wednesday's sharp slide led by the EIA on US crude stockpiles. Overnight oil prices dropped more than 3% after the official data showed a higher-than-expected rise in US oil inventories during last week.

Earlier on Thursday, the black gold was supported by mild retracement in the greenback, as measured by the overall US Dollar Index. However, renewed buying interest surrounding the greenback exerted fresh selling pressure surrounding dollar-denominated commodities - like oil. The US Dollar has been gaining traction led by rising prospects of an eventual Fed rate-hike action on expectations of strong NFP print. 

Technical levels to watch

From current levels, weakness below Wednesday's weekly low support near $44.50 seems to open room for continuation of the near-term depreciating move towards $42.80 support area in the near-term with intermediate support near $44.00 round figure mark and $43.40 level. 

On the flip side, immediate resistance is now pegged around $45.30 level above which the recovery momentum is likely to get extended beyond $46.00 mark, towards its next major resistance near $46.35-40 zone.