WTI Price Analysis: Sticks to modest gains below mid-$72.00s, not out of the woods yet

• WTI Oil prices gain some positive traction for the second straight day, albeit lack follow-through.
• The technical setup remains tilted in favour of bearish and supports prospects for deeper losses.
• Any further move up is likely to confront stiff resistance and remain capped near the 50-day SMA.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil prices attract some buyers for the second successive day on Wednesday, albeit lack follow-through and remain below the overnight swing high through the first half of the European session. The commodity currently trades just below mid-72.00s, up nearly 0.35% for the day.

From a technical perspective, Crude Oil prices remain below 50, 100 and 200-day Simple Moving Averages (SMA), which favours bearish traders. That said, oscillators on the daily chart have just started gaining positive traction and warrant some caution before positioning for a fresh leg down. Hence, any meaningful slide below the $2.00 round figure is more likely to find decent support ahead of the $71.00 mark.

The latter should act as a key pivotal point, which if broken decisively will reaffirm the negative outlook and drag Crude Oil prices below the $70.00 psychological mark, towards the monthly low, around the $69.40 region. Some follow-through selling could make the commodity vulnerable to accelerate the downward trajectory further towards testing sub-$68.00 levels, of a multi-month low touched in December.

On the flip side, the immediate hurdle is pegged near the $73.00-$73.10 region, above which a fresh bout of a short-covering rally has the potential to lift Crude Oil prices back towards the $74.00 round figure. This is followed by the 50-day SMA, currently around the $74.35 zone, which if cleared decisively might shift the bias in favour of bullish traders and pave the way for a move towards the $75.00 psychological mark.

WTI Crude Oil daily chart

Technical levels to watch