FX.co ★ CL/Crude Oil

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US benchmark crude, rose slightly on Wednesday, partly offsetting heavy losses thelosses the previous day, when it tumbled to a new multi-week low. Although it bounced slightly, the move lacks conviction, and WTI remains confined to its current range near $89.37. At the time of writing, the price is up more than 0.80%, with traders awaiting further news on the ongoing situation in the Middle East. Initially, investors were optimistic about a possible diplomatic resolution to the US-Iran conflict. However, these hopes were short-lived after US President Donald Trump refused Iran's seven-day ceasefire offer. Meanwhile, Qatar's attempts to broker a deal between the two sides have had limited success this week. Another factor to consider is the threat of renewed military action by Trump. According to US officials, Trump could order larger-scale military strikes against Iran once midterm elections take place. This risk factor supports crude prices amid recovering exports from the region. Technically, traders following the charts will see the overnight drop that pushed price below the 200-EMA on the 4H chart as a key bearish signal. Further declines should have some support around the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the August–September rally. In addition, momentum indicators are muted: the RSI is hovering around the oversold area at 39, while the MACD remains negative. All of this suggests any attempt at a new rally will likely meet selling as it approaches the 200-EMA area near $89.78. A clear breakthrough of this level will enable testing of the next significant resistance at $90.57, a 100% Fibonacci level. After that, further overhead resistance may appear around $93.24, a 38.2% retracement level, and $96.54, $101.87, along with other retracement and anchor levels. On the other hand, a breakdown below $87.90, the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement, will leave lower cushions near the 78.6% retracement at $84.10 and the previous cycle low at $79.26.