On Friday, the WTI crude oil price extended Thursday’s gains from lows of about $86.79 to trade at about $88.62. The oil price trades within an ascending channel formation on the 60-minute chart.

The light crude oil price has now advanced to trade above the 100-hour moving average line. However, it pulled back slightly to avoid rallying into the overbought levels of 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, the US producer price index for October came in lower than expected, at 0.3% (MoM) versus a forecast of 0.4%, down from 1.4% in September. The (YoY) equivalent rose to 6.5%, up from the previous month’s equivalent of 6.3%, but below the forecast rate of 6.6%. 

On the other hand, the producer price index ex-food and energy for the period fell to 0.3% (MoM), down from 0.8%, as expected. The (YoY) equivalent remained steady at 5%, in line with expectations. On Thursday, the US initial jobless claims for last week came in worse than expected, at 200k versus a forecast of 195k, up from the previous week’s equivalent of 191k.

In the latest US crude inventories, the API weekly crude oil stock rose to 9 million, up from the previous week’s equivalent of -5.267 million, and above the forecast net stock of -1 million. On the other hand, the EIA crude oil stocks change for last week increased to 4.657 million, up from the preceding week’s equivalent of -0.865 million, and above the forecast change of -1.1 million.

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

Technically, the WTI crude oil price trades within an ascending channel formation on the 60-minute chart. However, the 14-hour RSI has recently pulled back to avoid rallying into overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to stretch the current pullback towards $86.79 or lower, down to $85.10. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on extended gains at about $90.41 or higher, up to $92.10.

WTI Crude Oil Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)

In the daily chart, the light crude oil price trades within a descending channel formation. The 14-day RSI also supports a long-term bearish bias as it moves closer to oversold conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to ride the current run of declines toward $79.80 or lower, down to $70.87. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on rebounds at about $97.27 or higher, up to $105.81.