WTI futures traded near $102.25 in Friday\u2019s European session, after a near two-week rise paused at $107.35 on Thursday. The move left prices flat on the day but still elevated.<\/p>\n
Prices have been supported by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a route linked to almost 20% of global energy supply. The closure is expected to continue after the US rejected Iran\u2019s proposal and said it would extend a naval blockade on Iranian sea ports.<\/p>\n
Hawkish messages from major central banks have increased concern about future oil demand. Policymakers warned about upside inflation risks and signalled tighter monetary conditions ahead amid higher oil prices.<\/p>\n
WTI traded sideways, holding above the 20-day EMA at $95.15, with the RSI at 60.95. Support is seen at $95.15, then $90.00 if there is a daily close below the moving average.<\/p>\n
If WTI breaks above $107.35, it may move towards $113.28. WTI is a US crude benchmark traded via the Cushing hub, and prices can be affected by growth, geopolitics, sanctions, OPEC decisions, the US Dollar, and weekly API and EIA inventory data.<\/p>\n
We are currently seeing West Texas Intermediate trading calmly around $85 a barrel, a very different picture from the tensions we recall from this time last year. Looking back at the situation in 2025, prices were elevated above $102 due to major supply fears. That environment of geopolitical risk seems to have subsided for now, leading to a more stable market.<\/p>\n
Last year’s major driver was the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, which took a significant portion of the world’s energy supply offline and fueled bullish bets. Today, that vital passage is open, and recent OPEC+ meetings have resulted in stable production quotas, calming supply-side anxieties. The latest EIA report confirms this stability, showing a modest crude inventory build of 1.3 million barrels last week, a sharp contrast to the drawdowns we were watching in 2025.<\/p>\n
From a technical standpoint, the aggressive bullish momentum we saw in 2025 has faded. Back then, the price was well above its 20-day moving average, but now it trades closely with it, suggesting a more balanced market. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering near 52, a neutral reading far from the bullish 60+ levels seen during last year\u2019s rally.<\/p>\n
The concerns over hawkish central banks in 2025 have now translated into observable economic effects. After a year of rate hikes, major economies have seen a slowdown, and the Federal Reserve has held rates steady for the last two meetings. This has shifted the market’s focus from future inflation risk to current demand strength, with the IEA recently trimming its global demand growth forecast for the year.<\/p>\n
Given this backdrop of lower volatility and a more range-bound price, buying outright call options appears less attractive than it did last year. Traders should instead consider strategies that benefit from this stability, such as selling covered calls against existing long positions to generate income. For those concerned about the economic slowdown, purchasing put spreads offers a defined-risk way to hedge against a potential drop below the recent support level of $80.<\/p>\n
Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WTI holds near $102 as Hormuz closure supports prices; central-bank hawkishness raises demand worries; key levels $95-$113.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"josephine","author_link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/author\/josephine\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET","POST","PUT","PATCH","DELETE"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46401\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}