Oil slides for third straight session, now eyeing EIA data for fresh impetus

WTI crude oil fell below $46.00 mark during early trade on Wednesday but managed to rebound from lower levels and is currently trading at $46.10-05 band, still in red for third straight session. 

Broad based greenback strength, on increasing prospects of an eventual Fed rate-hike, has been the key factor weighing on dollar-denominated commodities - like oil. 

Meanwhile, renewed supply glut worries amid expectations of a build in US crude inventories added on to the selling pressure around the commodity after the trade group, American Petroleum Institute (API), reported an estimated rise of 942,000 barrel in US crude stockpiles. The official data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be published later during US trading session on Wednesday.

Further downslide, however, was limited on news that firms in the US regulated areas of the Gulf of Mexico, which constitutes around 22% of US crude output, were closed as a precautionary measure to threats from a tropical storm.

Also in focus would be US economic releases, namely - ADP report on private sector employment, Chicago PMI and pending home sales, which has the potential to drive the US Dollar and eventually provide some immediate impetus in oil prices.