On Thursday, bulls managed to gain a foothold above the level of $67.3 per barrel of Brent crude oil, updating a three-month high. However, further progress remains in question. A very strong resistance zone of $68.0-69.0 is up ahead and oscillators show a bearish divergence.
An interesting picture is also shown by the data on CFTC crude oil speculative net positions. They grew last week to a local maximum of 536.4K. The speculative positions reached these values last time at the end of April 2019, and before that in October 2018. On the price chart, this corresponds to local highs: $75.58 in April and $86.71 in October. In both cases, after this a long bearish trend began. Therefore, in the current price zone, it is strongly recommended to fix trading positions at least partially.
Locally, oil quotes are supported by progress in the trade war between the US and China. On Tuesday, Donald Trump announced that a ceremony of signing the first stage of the agreement will be held between him and the Chinese president. It will put an end to their trade confrontation.
According to the American Petroleum Institute, US oil inventories felt by 7.9 million barrels over the previous week. The official EIA report will be released on Friday, two days later than usual due to the Christmas holidays.