Oil struggling to register any meaningful recovery from three-month lows

After dropping to a three-month low on Tuesday, WTI crude oil attempted a tepid recovery that got sold into and prices remained near multi-month low, below $43.00 handle. 

On Tuesday, the black gold crumbled below $43.00/barrel, marking a fourth straight session of declines. Investors remained concerned over the recurrent global supply glut that continues to weigh on crude oil prices. 

Adding to this, upbeat US economic releases continue to fuel speculation of an imminent Fed rate-hike in 2016, which is boosting the greenback and denting demand for dollar-denominated commodities - like oil. 

Hence, investors now keenly await the outcome of Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, which would have a lasting effect on the US Dollar and eventually determine the near-term trajectory for riskier assets, including oil. In the meantime, oil traders will also focus on the official release of US crude oil inventories data, released by the EIA later during NY trading session.

Technical levels to watch

On the immediate downside, weakness below Tuesday's low is likely to get extended even below $42.00 handle, towards $41.80-75 support, which if broken is likely to extend the commodity's near-term corrective move towards the very important 200-day SMA support near $40.20-10 region.

Meanwhile on the upside, recovery above $43.00 immediate hurdle might get extended but now seems to confront a strong resistance near $44.00 round figure mark. Only a decisive strength above $44.00 mark might negate near-term bearish outlook and assist the commodity to stage some additional recovery in the near-term.