Crude Oil Falls to $96.57, 14% Weekly Drop

Crude oil futures settled at $96.57, down $1.30 (-1.33%) on the day and $16 (-14.29%) for the week. The contract traded below its 100-hour and 200-hour moving averages, at $102.87 and $103.57. This week’s low was $91.05.

Prices have moved sharply since late February. The price low on Feb. 26 was $63.81, just before the outbreak of war on Feb. 28. The market rose to a close of $71.02 on March 2 and then surged to a high of $119.48 on March 9.

A correction followed, with a low of $76.73 on March 10. Prices climbed again to a peak of $117.62 earlier this week before pulling back toward the $90s.

Trading over the past two weeks has featured large intraday ranges and rapid reversals, with prices swinging from the mid-$60s to near $120 and back below $100 within a matter of weeks. Market participants reacted to changing news flow and to reassessments of supply and demand during that period.

Technical indicators showed the contract trading under short-term averages at $102.87 and $103.57, levels that traders use to assess near-term price direction.