WTI Crude Oil dips amid easing geopolitical tensions, OPEC+ deliberations

WTI crude oil prices declined following the start of a truce in the Gaza Strip.
OPEC+ postpones crucial meetings, sparking speculations of potential oil production cuts for 2024.
Global factors like higher US crude stockpiles, China's uncertain oil demand, and non-OPEC production growth contribute to Oil price trends.

Christian Borjon Valencia FXStreet

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US Crude Oil benchmark, fell on Friday as the release of some hostages in Gaza reduced geopolitical tensions. The daily chart showed prices at $75.13 per barrel, even though global business activity witnessed an uptick.

WTI falls to $75.13 per barrel as Gaza truce reduces Middle East risks, while OPEC+ meeting delay and production discussions influence market

A planned truce in the Gaza Strip began, aimed to allow the exchange of hostages between Israel and Hamas. Hence, reduced geopolitical tensions weighed in on oil prices, which usually tend to rise amid risks in the Middle East. However, Oil bears are not out of the woods yet, as the upcoming OPEC+ meeting is awaited, with crude Oil production cuts for 2024 looming.

The OPEC+ delayed its meeting from November 26 to November 30 as countries discussed Oil output levels. The delay led to a significant drop of 5% on Wednesday before WTI trimmed some of its losses to just 1.30%.

There are indications that OPEC+ is making progress toward a compromise with African oil-producing countries regarding production levels for 2024. This development suggests ongoing negotiations and discussions within the group to establish production quotas for the coming year.

While WTI could witness an uptick if OPEC+ cuts its production, higher US Crude stockpiles, and lower refining margins can put a lid on Oil prices.

Additionally, China's longer-term oil demand outlook remains uncertain. Analysts suggest that oil demand growth in China could weaken to around 4% in the first half of 2024, mainly due to challenges in the property sector that may impact diesel consumption.

Furthermore, non-OPEC production is expected to remain robust, with Brazil's state energy company, Petrobras, planning significant investments to boost output. This could contribute to global oil supply, potentially limiting upward price movements.

WTI Technical Levels

WTI US OIL

Overview
Today last price	75.59
Today Daily Change	-0.76
Today Daily Change %	-1.00
Today daily open	76.35

Trends
Daily SMA20	78.47
Daily SMA50	83.61
Daily SMA100	82.2
Daily SMA200	77.94

Levels
Previous Daily High	76.86
Previous Daily Low	75.35
Previous Weekly High	79.66
Previous Weekly Low	72.39
Previous Monthly High	90.88
Previous Monthly Low	80.52
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	75.93
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	76.28
Daily Pivot Point S1	75.51
Daily Pivot Point S2	74.67
Daily Pivot Point S3	73.99
Daily Pivot Point R1	77.02
Daily Pivot Point R2	77.7
Daily Pivot Point R3	78.54

Author

Christian Borjon Valencia

FXStreet

Christian Borjon began his career as a retail trader in 2010, mainly focused on technical analysis and strategies around it. He started as a swing trader, as he used to work in another industry unrelated to the financial markets.

Markets move fast. We move first.

Orange Juice Newsletter brings you expert driven insights - not headlines. Every day on your inbox.

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD bounces toward 1.1750 as US Dollar loses strength

EUR/USD returned to the 1.1750 price zone in the American session on Friday, despite falling Wall Street, which indicates risk aversion. Trading conditions remain thin following the New Year holiday and ahead of the weekend, with the focus shifting to US employment and European data scheduled for next week.

GBP/USD nears 1.3500, holds within familiar levels

After testing 1.3400 on the last day of 2025, GBP/USD managed to stage a rebound. Nevertheless, the pair finds it difficult to gather momentum and trades with modest intraday gains at around 1.3490 as market participants remain in holiday mood.

Gold trims intraday gains, approaches $4,300

Gold retreated sharply from the $4,400 area and trades flat for the day in the $4,320 price zone. Choppy trading conditions exacerbated the intraday decline, although XAU/USD bearish case is out of the picture, considering growing expectations for a dovish Fed and persistent geopolitical tensions.

Cardano gains early New Year momentum, bulls target falling wedge breakout

Cardano kicks off the New Year on a positive note and is extending gains, trading above $0.36 at the time of writing on Friday. Improving on-chain and derivatives data point to growing bullish interest, while the technical outlook keeps an upside breakout in focus.

Economic outlook 2026-2027 in advanced countries: Solidity test

After a year marked by global economic resilience and ending on a note of optimism, 2026 looks promising and could be a year of solid economic performance. In our baseline scenario, we expect most of the supportive factors at work in 2025 to continue to play a role in 2026.

Crypto market outlook for 2026

Year 2025 was volatile, as crypto often is. Among positive catalysts were favourable regulatory changes in the U.S., rise of Digital Asset Treasuries (DAT), adoption of AI and tokenization of Real-World-Assets (RWA).