"There is finally some sense of urgency in the oil market. Nothing that would constitute shifts in tectonic plates or any sharp transition, but things do not seem as dull as they were just a week ago," says Amrita Sen at Barclays Capital.
Key benchmark prices have broken out of the $80 to $83 range in intra-day trading, settling at a six-month high yesterday. December WTI settled 95 cents higher at $83.90/bbl and the equivalent Brent contract gained 79 cents to $85.41/bbl.
Indeed Barclays believe the market seems to be slowly but surely getting comfortable with traversing a broader range of $70 to $90 and increasingly seems to be flirting with the idea of some increased volatility.
Looking at the technical charts for WTI crude we see a pivot at 82.50.
Trading Central say the immediate trend remains up but the momentum is weak.
There is a preference to take long positions above 82.5 with 85.1 & 86.3 in sight.
Alternative, should prices head lower the downside penetration of 82.5 will call for 80.9 & 79.75.
