WTI Price Analysis: Recovers early lost ground and climbs back closer to mid-$82.00s

• WTI Crude Oil prices attract fresh buying and stall its corrective slide from the YTD top.
• The technical setup favours bullish traders and supports prospects for a further move up.
• A break below the ascending trend channel support is needed to negate the positive bias.

Western Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil prices come under some renewed selling pressure on the first day of a new week and retreat further from the YTD peak, around the $84.30-$84.35 region touched last Thursday. The black liquid, however, manages to recover a major part of its intraday losses and trades around the $82.35 region during the early European session, down only 0.20% for the day.

Concerns that slowing economic growth in China - the world's top oil importer - will dent fuel demand turn out to be a key factor weighing on Oil prices. Apart from this, the underlying bullish sentiment surrounding the US Dollar (USD), bolstered by expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will keep interest rates higher for longer, exerts some pressure on the US Dollar-denominated commodity. That said, the production cuts announced by Saudi Arabia and Russia help limit any further losses, rather attract fresh buying at lower levels.

From a technical perspective, the recent breakout through the very important 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), along with the formation of an ascending channel on short-term charts, adds credence to the positive outlook for Oil prices. Moreover, oscillators on the daily chart have eased from slightly overbought conditions and suggest that the path of least resistance for the black liquid is to the upside. Bulls, however, might wait for some follow-through buying beyond Friday's swing high, around the $83.25-$83.30 region, before placing fresh bets.

Crude Oil prices might then aim to surpass an intermediate hurdle near the $83.70 region and aim to reclaim the $84.00 mark. The upward trajectory could get extended further towards retesting the $84.30-$84.35 zone, or the highest level since November 2022, en route to the $85.00 psychological mark and the ascending trend-channel resistance, currently pegged just below mid-$85.00s.

On the flip side, the daily low, around the $82.00 mark, now seems to protect the immediate downside. This is followed by the lower end of the aforementioned trend channel, around the $81.30-$81.25 region, which should act as a strong base and a key pivotal point for Oil prices. A convincing break below might shift the near-term bias in favour of bearish traders and pave the way for some meaningful corrective decline. The black liquid might then weaken further below the $81.00 mark and the $80.00 psychological mark, towards testing last week's swing low, around the $79.65 region.

WTI Crude Oil daily chart

Technical levels to watch