West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices pulled back from a multi-month high near $104.00 during Friday's Asian trading session but remained above $102.00, marking the third consecutive day of gains. The retreat came amid ongoing supply disruption concerns, which offset hopes for diplomatic resolutions in the Middle East.
Recent geopolitical developments include a letter from US Vice President JD Vance to Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary, Mohsen Rezaei, urging renewed peace negotiations. Additionally, Qatar proposed a new draft deal to Iran aimed at ending the conflict with the US and Israel. Tensions persisted as Iran's navy reported that four oil tankers struck sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, while hostilities between Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and Saudi Arabia continued to escalate.
From a technical standpoint, WTI maintains a bullish outlook after breaking above the 100-period Simple Moving Average (SMA) on the 4-hour chart. The commodity is trading within an upward-sloping parallel channel, with the Relative Strength Index (14) at 57 and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) turning slightly positive. These indicators suggest that buyers still dominate the short-term market, with support at $100.49.
The primary resistance level is near $107.22, where a rejection could lead to consolidation or a corrective pullback. A break below the channel support would signal a more significant deterioration in the bullish setup, potentially leading to a decline toward the 100-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $96.97.