Amidst Range-Bound WTI Crude, Lesson From Hypothetical XLE Trade

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda!  What could have been $9.93 in profit in a hypothetical XLE trade is now only worth $1.83.  Culprit?  Trying to play it too cute plus greed. Since peaking on January 25 at $66.66/barrel, spot West Texas Intermediate … Continued

WTI Crude Looks Tired – Trade Brewing In XLE

Spot West Texas Intermediate crude, up 54-plus percent since last June alone, is giving out signs of fatigue. Non-commercials have been on the right side of this trade.  As they usually are.  These traders follow the trend, and the trend … Continued

Bulls Under Tremendous Pressure To Save Support on Spot WTI

Crude oil made the headlines big last week – in an adverse manner.  Not that it has not been in the headlines.  But last week was different in that it entered a bear market, which supposedly happens when an asset … Continued

Record U.S. Crude Inventory + Non-Commercials’ Record WTI Net Longs – Bulls Face Crude Reality

Ten and counting.  That is the number of weeks spot West Texas Intermediate crude ($53.78) has now gone flat. Oil bulls hope this is consolidation before another leg higher.  Since oil bottomed at $26.05 on February 11 last year, it … Continued

Sideways For Weeks, Crude Oil Ceases To Respond To +ve News

Over the weekend came news that OPEC and non-OPEC producers had taken 1.5 million barrels per day out of the market.  They had earlier agreed to output cut of 1.8 mb/d in the first six months this year. OPEC first … Continued

OPEC Wants Higher Price But Not High Enough To Aid U.S. Shale

Over the weekend, non-OPEC producers agreed to cut crude output by 558,000 barrels per day, of which Russia would reduce by 300,000 b/d.  This followed OPEC’s November 30 decision to cut output by 1.2 million b/d. The deal goes into … Continued

Near Term, Potential Crude Headwind Set To Lock Horns With Earnings Tailwind

Building on the crude theme a week ago, spot West Texas Intermediate crude did indeed break out of a declining trend line drawn from May 2015 (Chart 1).  It rallied 3.3 percent for the week.  For the last eight sessions, … Continued

XLE’s Path Of Least Resistance Down — At Least Near Term

Since spot West Texas Intermediate crude bottomed intra-day at $26.05/barrel on February 11th and began to rally, resistance points have fallen one after another.  First went $34-$35, then $40, followed by $42-$43 and then $47-$48 (Chart 1), rallying past both … Continued

Big Stock Move Upon Us? Why Profits/Buybacks Likely Hold Key

Is the S&P 500 index (2035.94) resting or struggling at resistance? Either way, the rather lethargic action the past few sessions is not completely out of the ordinary given the move it has had off February 11th lows.  From low … Continued