On Friday, the WTI crude oil price bounced back from the session lows of about $88.69 to trade at about $90.89 after the latest US data. The oil price trades within a descending channel formation on the 60-minute chart.

The light crude oil price continues to trade a few levels above the 100-hour moving average line. As a result, it avoided falling into oversold territory on the 14-hour RSI.

WTI Crude Oil Fundamentals Overview

From a fundamental perspective, the light crude oil price trades during a relatively busy period in the US market. On Friday, US nonfarm payrolls for August increased to 162k, up from the previous month’s equivalent of 21k, beating the forecast of 56k.

The unemployment rate for the month remained unchanged from July, at 4.1%, in line with expectations. The average hourly wage growth for the period also matched the (MoM) forecast of 0.3%, while the (YoY) equivalent outperformed the estimate of 3%, with a change of 3.1%.

On Thursday, the US initial jobless claims for last week came in at 206k, up from 204k in the preceding week, missing the forecast claim count of 205k. On the other hand, the ISM Services PMI for August outshone the forecast of 54.3, with a reading of 55.4, up from the previous month’s equivalent of 54.1. The S&P Global Composite PMI for the period remained unchanged at 56, as expected.

In the latest US crude inventories, the API weekly crude oil stock for last week fell to -2.6 million, down from the preceding week’s equivalent of 4.2 million, beating the forecast of -0.8 million. On the other hand, the EIA crude oil stocks change for last week fell to -4.45 million, down from 0.095 million, beating the forecast of -1.1 million. 

WTI Crude Oil Technical Analysis (the 60-min Chart)

Technically, the WTI crude oil trades within a descending channel formation on the 60-minute chart. However, the 14-hour RSI has recently bounced back to avoid falling into oversold conditions.

Therefore, the bulls will look to extend the current rebound towards $92.97 or higher, up to $95.45. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on profits at about $88.69, or lower at $86.44.

WTI Crude Oil Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)

In the daily chart, the light crude oil price trades within an ascending triangle formation. The 14-day RSI also supports a long-term bullish bias as it edges closer to overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bulls will look to extend the current run of gains toward $98.07 or higher, up to $105.40. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on pullbacks at about $83.62, or lower at 76.29.