WTI Oil Prices Volatile Ahead of Potential Talks

As the XTI/USD chart shows, the price of a barrel rose above $65 yesterday, reacting to the risk of talks between Iran and the United States on the nuclear deal breaking down. These negotiations could begin on Friday.

According to Axios, Arab world leaders have urged Donald Trump not to follow through on his threats to withdraw from the talks and shift towards military action after demands put forward by Iran. This news prompted a pullback in prices below $64.

The news backdrop is further complicated by conflicting reports regarding India’s refusal to purchase Russian oil, alongside other global factors. All of this is contributing to heightened volatility in the oil market, a trend also confirmed by the ATR indicator.

Technical Analysis of XTI/USD

On 14 January, we:

→ analysed swings in WTI crude prices to identify a breakout from a descending channel (shown in red) and outline an upward trajectory (shown in blue);
→ noted that the breakout level (around $58.35) was acting as support;
→ suggested that the market was vulnerable to a corrective move.

Indeed, on the same day (as indicated by the blue arrow), the price formed a bearish impulse towards this support, where the market found some balance.

However, geopolitical developments since the second half of January have supported higher prices, providing grounds to draw a broad ascending channel (shown in purple). In this context:

→ its lower boundary is acting as support, with the long lower wick on the 3 February candle confirming aggressive buying interest;
→ the $65 level appears to be a key resistance. Broad price swings formed there on 29–30 January — a sign of “smart money” activity — after which prices declined. Yesterday, the market again reversed sharply from this level.

It is therefore reasonable to assume that this resistance will pose a significant hurdle for bulls if they attempt to keep prices within the ascending purple channel. At the same time, the further direction of WTI oil price movements will most likely be determined by developments surrounding Friday’s Iran–US nuclear talks in Oman.