The price of crude oil futures settled at $98.07, up $2.65 or 2.78% on the day. Looking at the hourly chart, the low price today reached $96.13, briefly pushing below the rising 100-hour moving average, currently at $96.96 (blue line on the chart below). However, sellers were unable to sustain momentum below that key support level, allowing buyers to regain some control and helping to neutralize the bearish bias.
At the same time, upside momentum also stalled ahead of the 200-hour moving average, currently at $100.74. The high price today reached $100.37, just short of that key resistance target.
As a result, crude oil remains trapped between the 100-hour moving average support below at $96.96 and the 200-hour moving average resistance above at $100.74. A break outside either boundary would give traders the next stronger directional clue.
On a break higher, traders look toward the downward sloping trend line as a next key target level. That level comes in at around the $107.68. On a break back below the 100 hour moving average traders would look toward $93.74 followed by the upward sloping trend line near $91.60.
