WTI Bounces off 200-Day EMA as Buyers Defend $85 Support

Behind the price action, the Middle East backdrop remains a source of uncertainty. Street violence has subsided in recent days, but the Strait of Hormuz is still effectively closed, according to shipping data. The closure has not triggered a new spike in prices, yet the persistence of the disruption keeps supply risk embedded in the market. Traders said the lack of an immediate escalation has allowed technical factors to reassert control, but any headline that shifts the risk calculus could rekindle the move higher.

The structure of the bounce matters. WTI held above the 200-day EMA on the first test after a sharp rally, a pattern that often precedes a consolidation or a leg higher if the moving average continues to slope upward. The $85 level on both WTI and Brent will act as a pivot in the sessions ahead.