On Friday (February 13th) in Asian trading, US crude oil was trading around $62.90 per barrel. Oil prices fell on Thursday due to weak demand, fading concerns about renewed conflict in the Middle East, and anticipated increased supply. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday that global oil demand growth this year will be lower than previously expected, while predicting a significant surplus despite production cuts caused by supply disruptions in January. Brent and US crude oil prices turned lower after the release of the IEA's monthly report, having previously been supported by concerns about the US-Iran situation. US President Trump said on Thursday that the US must reach an agreement with Iran and believed an agreement could be reached within the next month.

A sharp rise in US crude oil inventories limited early gains. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 8.5 million barrels to 428.8 million barrels last week. On the supply side, data showed that Russian seaborne petroleum product exports in January increased by 0.7% compared to December, reaching 9.12 million tons, influenced by high fuel production and a seasonal decline in domestic demand.

From a daily chart perspective, crude oil futures have recently been trading below $63, indicating a weakening short-term trend. The previous upward consolidation structure has been broken, with prices falling below the lower edge of the previous upward channel, shifting the market rhythm from trending to range-bound trading. The first technical support level is currently around $62, which corresponds to a previous area of dense trading and a temporary low. A break below this level could lead to a further test of the psychological level of $60. If $60 is effectively broken, the medium-term structure will turn bearish.

In the short term (1H), crude oil maintains an upward channel, with moving averages in a bullish alignment, indicating an overall slightly bullish bias. In summary, the recommended trading strategy for crude oil today is to primarily buy on dips and secondarily sell on rallies. The key resistance level to watch in the short term is 64.0-65.0, while the key support level is 61.5-60.5.

Disclaimer: The article is contributed by the market analyst from Bitop market observation team. The content is solely for personal opinions and sharing. The analysis is time-sensitive and provided for reference and discussion only. It does not constitute any investment advice. The market is risky, so investing should be done cautiously.