Crude oil futures settle at $82.81

July 02, 2024 at 08:09PM
The price of WTI crude oil futures are settling at $82.81. That is down $0.57 or -0.68%.

The price moved lower after trading to a two-month high to $84.38 earlier in the day. That was just $0.08 from the April 26 high target at $84.46 (see chart above).

On the downside, the 61.8% retracement of the move down from the April high to the June low comes in at $81.84. That was near high levels going back to June to the end of June, before the break higher yesterday.

The decline today came on falling fears of supply disruptions from Hurricane Beryl and despite escalating Middle East tensions.

Forecasts now call for the hurricane to unlikely impact offshore oil production significantly.

Meanwhile, geopolitical concerns rose after Israel reported 18 soldiers injured in a drone attack by Iran-backed Hezbollah.

On the demand side, U.S. gasoline consumption is expected to peak with increased travel for the Independence Day holiday, forecasted to be 5.2% higher than in 2023.

Recently, oil prices have been supported by OPEC+ extending oil output cuts until 2025.

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.