Crude oil looks headed for its $70-a-barrel target after being rejected right at the institutional sell zone. It sold off after Russia reported a ceasefire between Iran and the US, following a 35% rally last month off the smart-money zone. x.com
Peter DiCarlo
Smart-Money Trader, Mechanical Trading Systems & Education
Crude oil's price floor is well below $70 a barrel now that Iran is under control and Venezuela is pumping oil. x.com
Crude oil should fall back into the $60s and likely well below over time once the Iran war is resolved. Middle East producers are overproducing but cannot export the barrels, so when the Strait fully reopens they will flood the market. Oil tried to break down from its trend line but was rejected, and bigger resolution news is likely needed to push it much lower. Cheaper oil would remove current inflation fears, setting up a deflationary boom. x.com x.com
A possible US strike on Iran poses near-term upside risk for crude oil. If Trump expects to lose the midterms, he may act between Israel's October 27 election and the November 3 US vote. Crude has filled the $101 gap and reached the rising channel's midpoint; if it keeps breaking higher, the next levels are $105, $110 and the channel top near $115. x.com
Sustained high energy prices strain US farming, logistics, manufacturing and consumers, so crude oil should fall dramatically from its elevated level. Middle East and Russia tensions are lifting WTI, shown near $103, while Trump will likely step in at some point to reduce uncertainty. x.com x.com
More oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz and continued OPEC and Russian production should push crude oil lower. It has fallen from about $106 to $96 over the past month. x.com
Crude oil regains a geopolitical premium after the US revoked its Iran oil-sale waiver on July 7, putting Iranian supply back under sanctions after July 17. Supply can't normalize fast: Hormuz is only partly open, Gulf facilities are damaged and OPEC output has fallen, while US summer driving supports demand. Oil's price center may rise from about $67 a barrel in 2025 to above $70. Goldman's cut to $75 Brent for 2027 and weak 2026 demand remain risks. x.com
Crude oil now has more room to fall on a deal headline than to rise on the status quo, as Trump's rejection of Iran's seven-day Hormuz plan looks like a negotiating position, with negotiators due back this week and the Saudi foreign minister in Washington. The closed Strait put Brent back at $108 with Nov–Dec backwardation near $8. Speculators added shorts three weeks running, squeeze fuel above $100 if talks fail; a deal would leave about 101,828 contracts of net length as supply. x.com x.com
Crude oil has a fundamental top in process because Middle East shipments are almost back to pre-Iran-conflict levels while Iran cannot sustain the conflict economically. Shipments from Kharg Island, which carries Iran's own exports, have collapsed. x.com
An imminent Israeli strike on Iran puts Gulf oil infrastructure at unusually high risk over the next three months, supporting a near-term rise in crude oil. Large trades are betting on oil reaching $115 again. x.com
Oil's slide from $120 during the war to $79 should continue as the US-Iran deal, due to be signed on the 19th in Switzerland, reopens the Strait of Hormuz and ends the US naval blockade, restoring choked supply. Cheaper oil lowers US inflation and flips the market from expecting another hike toward rate cuts, lifting risk assets. The deal is only a 60-day MOU, though, and Israel is the problem: if anything blows up, oil rips and the chain runs in reverse. x.com