WTI Crude Oil Futures (August Futures)
**AUGUST FIRST NOTICE DAY 07/24/2025 (Thursday)
Friday’s Settlement: 67.34, down -0.20 [-0.30%] for the day, for the week down -1.11 [-1.62%]
Market Movers (Last Week):
Bullish EIA report on Wednesday
Iraqi drone strike
Russian tariffs > Tighter Sanctions
WTI Crude oil futures fell last week after President Trump’s “Russia announcement” on Monday featured higher Russian tariffs in lieu of tighter sanctions. The market had priced in the possibility of higher tariffs heading into last Monday. The weak announcement led to a sell-off in crude to start the week.
Wednesday’s EIA report printed bullish once again. The drawdown in crude oil inventories pushed supply levels back towards a 10-year seasonal low. Supply held at the key Cushing Oklahoma distribution hub reached its lowest level since 2014.
Iraq lost 200k bpd of production due to drone attacks in the volatile Kurdistan region. While the loss of barrels was marginal, tight markets leave little room for error. Traders are taking notice as a new dispute in the Middle East could require additional risk premiums for the futures contracts.
The EU announced tighter sanctions on Russian crude oil, which include a lower price cap and penalties for refiners using Russian crude in the production of finished products.
Overall, the catalysts last week trended bullish. But these were outweighed by the disappointment in President Trump’s “Big Russia announcement” on Monday.
Today, futures are trading -0.25 [-0.37%] to 67.09
Market Movers (Today):
US tariff talks
EU-Russia sanction package
Dollar weakness
The macro environment is trading mixed this morning, with the US Dollar trading weaker by -0.42% (Dollar Index futures). Equities are flat / higher while US yields are marketly lower. Precious metals are higher on the day, while Crude oil is marginally lower.
Geopolitical risk is ramping in the Middle East as the conflict in Syria moves the country onto the brink of collapse.
Data Releases:
N/A
Technical Analysis:
We are pretty bullish on crude oil to start the week here. Catalysts are trending bullish, the current Supply & Demand situation remains tight, and technically, the chart is set up nicely.
The 200-day moving average sits at 66.70, and gives us solid support on which to base long positions.
For intraday trading, our pivot and point of balance is set at…
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