• Crude OIl markets are easing into the low side on Thursday.
• Recent market tensions surrounding US-Iran talks blew some steam off.
• WTI is down around 1.5% on the day as both the US and Iran affirm scheduled talks on Friday.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) trimmed a little bit off the top of barrel bids on Thursday, falling around $0.95 per barrel, or 1.5%. Crude Oil markets saw fresh tensions in recent weeks as the US and Iran circle each other around the policy negotiation table, with a tit-for-tat exchange of cancellation threats fueling a brief upswing in barrel bids.

Both the US and Iran, after some sputtering cancellation threats, have reaffirmed that both sides will be meeting on Friday to discuss a variety of topics, including nuclear talks and trade. With both sides allowing themselves to be convinced by nobody in particular to return to their negotiation chairs, energy markets are easing off of their bids and allowing WTI prices to ease back into the low side.

WTI daily chart

WTI price forecast

In the daily chart, WTI US OIL trades at $63.14. Price stands above the rising 50-day EMA at $60.27 and the mildly ascending 200-day EMA at $62.23, keeping the near-term tone firm. The 50-day EMA continues to grind higher toward the 200-day, although a bullish crossover has not materialized. The slow stochastic has cooled to 67.15 after an overbought episode, pointing to momentum digestion rather than trend reversal.

Holding above the 200-day EMA at $62.23 would sustain the upside bias, while a close beneath it could expose a retracement toward the 50-day EMA at $60.27. A recovery in the oscillator back above 80 would pave the way for trend extension, whereas a roll-over toward the mid-50s would favour prolonged consolidation.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)