Crude oil: WTI erases gains after being unable to hold above $69.00

• Oil surged after Trump threatened Iran last night but then lost strength.
• WTI reached the highest level in a week but failed to hold above $69.00 a barrel and pulled back.

Crude oil prices are higher on Monday but during the last hours pulled back amid a recovery of the US dollar across the board. West Texas Intermediate Futures rose earlier today to $69.30 a barrel, the strongest since last Monday but failed to hold to gains.

Price dropped back below $69.00 and as of writing was trading at session lows at $68.20, around the same level it closed on Friday. WTI erased a gain of 1.20% and changed the intraday tone. The daily reversal could signal that the bearish pressure still remains in place.

From a fundamental perspective, an escalation in tensions between the US and Iran could boost prices further or limit the downside. Today, Indian’s oil minister mentioned that Iran became the second largest supplier to the Indian public sector, surpassing Saudi Arabia and showed how important is becoming Iran in the oil market. In the US, API inventory data will be released tomorrow.

WTI Levels to watch

To the downside, support levels might be located at $67.90, $66.70 and $66.25 (last week low). On the upside, resistance could be seen at $69.15 followed by $69.85 and $70.30.