Crude futures posted solid gains on Tuesday in reaction to surging equity markets. Crude came back down to our downtrend line early Wednesday, but are rallying from here at present, a positive sign for the near-term. However, the futures are barely above the psychological $40/bbl, and could easily fall below considering the level’s significance. The movement of Crude is still tightly correlated to the S&P futures since the condition of the U.S. economy is the driving force behind energy consumption. The U.S. will release its weekly Crude Oil Inventory data this afternoon. It will be interesting to see if the number can beat analyst expectations for the second week in a row. If so, then Crude futures could rise to test our uptrend line. However, if inventories should rise dramatically as they have in the past couple of months, then we could see a sell-off in Crude futures. The futures are currently battling with February 23rd highs. While we might see more near-term gains, the medium-term downtrend is still in control until U.S. equities and consequently the demand side of the equation recovers. The 2/12-2/17 trading range should serve as a telling barrier for the time being. Fundamentally, we find supports of $39.57/bbl, $39.04/bbl and $38.46/bbl. To the topside, we see resistances of $40.34/bbl, $40.99/bbl and $41.58/bbl. Crude futures are currently trading at $40.36/bbl.