WTI finds resistance ahead of $52, looks to settle below $51.50

• US Energy Secretary says coronavirus is unlikely to have big impact on oil. 
• Russia is yet to decide on deeper oil output cuts. 

After dropping to a daily low of $50.60 during the European trading hours, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) staged a decisive recovery and advanced to $51.90 before losing its momentum. As of writing, the WTI was trading at $51.37, losing 0.55% on a daily basis.

Coronavirus headlines continue to drive oil prices

The sharp increase seen in the reported number of coronavirus infections on Thursday revived concerns over a dismal global oil demand outlook and weighed on the WTI. However, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that the spike seen in the infection numbers were caused by a broader definition of cases.

In the meantime, US Energy Secretary Brouillette on Thursday said the coronavirus outbreak was unlikely to have a significant impact on oil prices.

"If the Chinese market is off by half a million barrels, that is 0.5% of total market, we are not going to see that impact on pricing very dramatically," Brouillette told Reuters.

On the other hand, Russia hasn't yet decided whether it will agree to deeper oil production reduction recommended by OPEC+ Joint Technical Committee (JTC) last week. 

Technical levels to watch for