WTI Crude Oil: An Emerging Trading Range

This morning’s jobs report came in stronger than expected, and oil prices rallied. The 216k December NFP gain topped the +175k estimate, though revisions to the two previous months were sharply negative – a trend we saw throughout 2023. Average hourly earnings verified hotter than what economists were forecasting. At +4.1% on a year-on-year basis, workers are now earning about a full percentage point above the current inflation rate. Compared to the 6-month annualized Core PCE rate, you could argue that real wages are positive by 2.2% versus December 2022.

Amid a strong labor market and ahead of next week’s CPI report, commodity prices are treading water. WTI hovers in the low 70s, and I assert that a new trading range has developed between $68 and $79. Trend-following traders may be frustrated by this sideways price action, but more stable energy costs could be a boon to the corporate world, right as the Q4 reporting season gets underway a week from today.

For now, this $11 WTI range will be one to watch as 2024 progresses. A breakout through it would portend an upside measured move price target to about $90, based on the $11 range height. A bearish breakdown could lead to a dip into the per barrel of WTI. With very high domestic oil and gas production and wavering global demand for oil amid a possible slowdown in GDP growth over the first half of the year, there are certainly some bearish supply/demand factors at play. Still, ongoing tensions in the Middle East have led to a surge in shipping container day rates, and further geopolitical escalations is a bullish catalyst to watch over the coming weeks.

For now, I see more trendless action taking place in crude oil.