Crude Oil Futures: Scope for further gains near term

Considering advanced prints from CME Group for crude oil futures markets, open interest dropped for the second session in a row on Wednesday, now by around 59.3K contracts. Volume followed suit and went down by around 52.3K contracts after two daily builds in a row.

WTI: Immediate hurdle comes just above $77.00

Wednesday’s downtick in prices of WTI was in tandem with decreasing open interest and volume, exposing further recovery in the very near term. Against that, the immediate hurdle for the commodity remains at the July high past the $77.00 mark per barrel, an area that appears reinforced by the 200-day SMA.