- WTI edges lower during the Asian session on Wednesday, though it lacks follow-through selling.
- Concerns about supply disruptions from Russia continue to act as a tailwind for the black liquid.
- A breakout through a short-term ascending channel backs the case for the emergence of dip-buying.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US Crude Oil prices struggle to capitalize on strong recovery gains registered over the past three days and tick lower during the Asian session on Wednesday. The commodity, however, defends the $64.00 mark amid concerns over Russian supply disruptions.
From a technical perspective, the overnight breakout through a short-term ascending trend-channel, extending from a multi-month low touched earlier this month, was seen as a key trigger for bulls. Moreover, positive oscillators on hourly/daily charts suggest that the path of least resistance for Crude Oil prices is to the upside and backs the case for the emergence of some dip-buying at lower levels.
That said, weakness below the $64.00 mark, also representing the ascending channel resistance breakpoint, might prompt some technical selling and drag the commodity to the next relevant support near the $63.50-$63.45 area. The subsequent fall would suggest that the recovery move has run out of steam and make Crude Oil prices vulnerable to accelerate the slide towards testing sub-$63.00 levels.
The declining trend could extend further towards the $62.20 intermediate support before the black liquid eventually weakens below the $62.00 mark, towards testing the lower boundary of the aforementioned channel, currently pegged near the $61.80-$61.75 region.
On the flip side, the $64.40 region, or a two-week high touched on Tuesday, could offer an immediate hurdle, above which Crude Oil prices could aim to reclaim the $65.00 psychological mark. Some follow-through buying would set the stage for further gains towards the $65.50-$65.60 barrier, which, if cleared, would reaffirm the constructive setup and trigger a fresh bout of short-covering.
WTI 4-hour chart
