|

WTI US crude oil slips below $90, taking a breather after hawkish Fed

  • WTI testing into $89.00 as markets take a step back after the Fed gave their latest rate call.
  • Fed kept rates at 5.5%, but updated their rate outlook.
  • US Oil easing back after supply constraint worries sent crude roaring.

West Texas Intermediary (WTI) has rallied recently, closing in the green for ten of the past twelve consecutive trading weeks and notching in over a 30% gain on the period.

Global crude oil supplies are facing down a continuous drawdown in reserve supplies after Saudi Arabia and Russia both announced that they would be extending their ongoing crude production cuts through the end of the year.

Crude soars on supply constraint fears, but hawkish Fed knocks action lower

Market analysts expect global crude supply chains to be facing a 2 million bpd deficit for the time being, until other crude production and shale pumping projects can get started in the US.

The Federal Reserve (Fed) held their benchmark interest rate at 5.5%, in-line with broader market estimates. However, the US central bank has updated their rate expectancy schedule looking forward, driving asset prices down and sending the US Dollar broadly higher.

The Fed now sees the interest rate for the year ending 2024 at 5.1%, half a percentage point higher than the previous 4.6%.

WTI technical outlook

WTI US crude oil is down %2 on the day's high, trading into $89.00 per barrel. Crude is slightly off its near-term high near $92.25, and further declines will be hampered by the 200-hour Simple Moving Average (SMA) currently providing support for intraday prices.

On the daily candlesticks, WTI is looking incredibly overbought with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence-Divergence indicators all flashing firmly in the top end, warning that a correction could be on the cards.

WTI's recent breakout from a rising triangle will see support just above $84.00, with the 34-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) climbing the charts to provide dynamic support as well.

WTI daily chart

WTI technical levels

WTI US OIL

Overview
Today last price89.05
Today Daily Change-1.53
Today Daily Change %-1.69
Today daily open90.58
 
Trends
Daily SMA2085.28
Daily SMA5081.79
Daily SMA10076.47
Daily SMA20076.74
 
Levels
Previous Daily High92.26
Previous Daily Low90.2
Previous Weekly High90.56
Previous Weekly Low86.23
Previous Monthly High84.32
Previous Monthly Low77.53
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%90.99
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%91.48
Daily Pivot Point S189.77
Daily Pivot Point S288.96
Daily Pivot Point S387.71
Daily Pivot Point R191.83
Daily Pivot Point R293.07
Daily Pivot Point R393.88

Author

Joshua Gibson

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

More from Joshua Gibson
Share:

Markets move fast. We move first.

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

By subscribing you agree to our Terms and conditions.

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).