- Oil prices are seeing a modest pullback after hitting a 13-day high early Friday.
- WTI retested the $88.00 area, but there is still a lot of strength in the bids as markets weigh geopolitical concerns.
- Bid interest remains high in crude oil, and bearish moves will face continued bullish pressure.
The prices of West Texas Intermediary (WTI) oil are down for Friday, albeit slightly, as ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Gaza Strip threaten to boil over and global production continues to dampen demand for barrels.
Crude oil prices rose on Thursday and briefly extended early on Friday, taking WTI to $89.64 to retest its highest bids in nearly three weeks of trading, before a pullback toward $88.00 a barrel.
Geopolitical tensions between Israel and Hamas continue to weigh on oil markets, as investors worry about a possible spill that could destabilize the region near the Strait of Hormuz; While Israel and Palestine are not major players in crude oil markets, the nearby Strait of Hormuz is a key choke point for global oil supplies, with one-fifth of all oil supply passing through its waters.
This week it emerged that the US will lift sanctions imposed on Venezuelan oil exports, in an attempt to shore up world oil markets, which are woefully undersupplied. However, Venezuelan oil producers remain well below capacity, and it will be some time before Venezuelan barrels begin to ease the supply shortage.
Technical outlook for WTI
Crude oil has continued its healthy rebound since October’s drop to $80.63, with WTI bids up around 9% from the low at the start of the month, and a bullish continuation will pave the way for a run to highs of September at $94.00.
The downside is being capped by the 50-day simple moving average, which is currently pushing higher from below $86.00, and the daily candlesticks have so far been unwilling to push too far beyond the technical barrier, with the 200-day SMA rolling into a bullish position from $78.00.
WTI Daily Chart
WTI technical levels
WTI US OIL
Overview | |
---|---|
Latest price today | 88.51 |
Today Daily variation | -0.53 |
Today’s daily variation | -0.60 |
Today’s daily opening | 89.04 |
Trends | |
---|---|
daily SMA20 | 86.76 |
daily SMA50 | 85.27 |
SMA100 daily | 79.89 |
SMA200 daily | 77.83 |
Levels | |
---|---|
Previous daily high | 89.39 |
Previous daily low | 85.39 |
Previous weekly high | 86.63 |
Previous weekly low | 81.45 |
Previous Monthly High | 93.98 |
Previous monthly low | 83.09 |
Daily Fibonacci 38.2 | 87.86 |
Fibonacci 61.8% daily | 86.92 |
Daily Pivot Point S1 | 86.49 |
Daily Pivot Point S2 | 83.94 |
Daily Pivot Point S3 | 82.48 |
Daily Pivot Point R1 | 90.49 |
Daily Pivot Point R2 | 91.94 |
Daily Pivot Point R3 | 94.5 |
Source: Fx Street

I am Joshua Winder, a senior-level journalist and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in covering news related to the stock market and economic trends. With more than 8 years of experience in this field, I have become an expert in financial reporting.