WTI pierces above $95.00 as Ukraine President Zelensky reveals Feb 16 as the day of Russia invasion

US crude oil benchmark, Western Texas Intermediate (WTI), barely advances, following Friday’s jump of 3.78%. At the time of writing, WTI is trading at $94.00, almost flat.

Geopolitical events dampened the market mood in the financial markets. Russia’s intentions of a possible invasion of Ukraine keep crude oil prices upward pressured, based on the fact that a war may trigger Russia’s sanctions to western countries, including cutting supplies of natural gas and oil. (Russia is the third-largest producer of natural gas and crude.)

Ukraine President Zelensky informed that February 16th would be the day of the attack, tensions elevate, and oil jumps

Around 18:50 GMT, crossed the wires that satellite images show Russian troops leaving assembly points and moving to attack positions, as reported by CBS News. Alongside that development, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US is closing its embassy in Kyiv and relocating its diplomatic operations to Western Ukraine. Furthermore, Ukraine President Zelensky said that Ukraine “has been informed” that Wednesday, February 16th “will be the day of the attack.”

WTI’s Reaction

At the headline, WTI’s jumped almost $2.00, and at 19:09, GMT is trading at $95.20 as tensions arise, despite efforts from finding a diplomatic way to end this conflict.

Meanwhile, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo told reports that “there’s no doubt that we are concerned with ensuring that the security of supply is also guaranteed.” However, emphasized that if demand continues to grow at the group projections, “the world will continue to be thirsty for oil for the foreseeable future,” Barkindo noted.

WTI Price Forecast: Technical outlook

WTI is upward biased and is trading above February’s 11 daily close at $93.88, though the upward move appears to stall at the mid-line between the top-central lines of Pitchfork’s uptrend channel, around $95.00, which once broken would expose $100.00.

Nevertheless, WTI’s would face some hurdles on its way north. The first resistance would be $95.00. A daily close above that level would expose August’s 2014 swing highs round 98.55, followed by a probe of $100.00, followed by the top-line of Pitchfork’s channel around $102.00