WTI Crude Oil Prices Plummet to One-Week Low Amid Easing Supply Concerns
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices continued their downward trend on Monday, falling to a one-week low below $94.00. The decline follows a modest gap-up open to the $96.55-$96.60 region and marks the fourth consecutive day of losses for the commodity.
The easing of supply concerns from Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline outage, which is expected to return to about half its capacity within days, has contributed to the price drop. Additionally, a recovery in shipments from Saudi Arabia has helped to alleviate worries over supply disruptions.
However, geopolitical tensions remain high due to ongoing fighting between the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, which continues to exert pressure on crude oil prices through the geopolitical risk premium.
From a technical perspective, WTI prices maintain a bullish bias above the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $85.14. The commodity's recent advance is also supported by the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level of the August-September upswing near $91.13.