Mixed sentiment sees WTI crude ending the day broadly flat; establishes tight $82.16 to $82.64 range

A mostly flat day so far for WTI crude, ranging between $82.16 and $82.64; currently at $82.46 per barrel.

This uncertain state for WTI crude is reflected by published market data as Producer Price Index in United States fell short of market expectations (0.1%) with a reading of -0.5%, continuing the decline from the previous figure of 0%. United States Initial Jobless Claims published yesterday at 12:30 UTC came out at 239,000, falling short of the 232,000 projections and continuing its decline from the previous 228,000 figure. United States Fed's Balance Sheet released yesterday at 20:30 UTC with a figure of 8.62 trillion, while the previous figure was 8.63 trillion.

'Bearish Harami' is a candlestick chart indicator used for detecting reversals within a prevailing bull trend. It is generally indicated by a small price decrease that's contained within a broader upward price movement and is commonly associated with a bullish trend coming to an end. WTI crude oil's upper Bollinger Band® is at $84.62, suggesting that a downward move may follow. On the other hand, note that WTI crude oil is approaching key support, around 65 cents away from $81.81. Dipping below could indicate further losses are ahead while a failure to break below this level is likely to be seen positively by market bulls.

Despite the market lacking direction, technical chart analysis strongly suggests West Texas crude is positioned for a downward move in the near term.

Meanwhile, mixed performances are seen in other Energy as Brent Crude Oil trades close to $86.33, with no major change. Natural Gas trades with no major change, around $2.02.

Data to be released later is expected to clarify investor sentiment while boosting price action volatility as United States Core Retail Sales expected to decline to -0.3% while its preceding data was -0.1%, data will be available today at 12:30 UTC. United States Retail Sales is expected today at 12:30 UTC.

West Texas crude has fallen back around 32.71% from the significant high of $122.09 set 10 months ago.