by Jim Wyckoff, Senior Analyst TraderPlanet.com
FEBRUARY CRUDE OIL
February crude oil closed down $1.96 at $93.71 a barrel today. Prices closed near the session low today and were pressured by U.S. economic recession worries and on profit-taking pressure. Bulls are fading now. However, bulls still have the overall near-term technical advantage. My bias is still that the liquid energies do not have much upside left. The next downside price objective for the bears is producing multiple closes below solid technical support at $90.00 a barrel. The next upside price objective for the bulls is to produce a close above solid chart resistance at $98.00. First resistance is seen at $95.00 and then at $96.00. First support is seen at today’s low of $93.25 and then at $93.00.
Wyckoff’s Market Rating: 7.0.
FEBRUARY HEATING OIL
February heating oil closed down 561 points at $2.5573 today. Prices closed nearer the session low today. Bulls are fading but still have the overall near-term technical advantage. The bulls’ next upside price objective is closing prices above solid resistance at $2.6750. Bears’ next downside price objective is producing a close below solid technical support at $2.5000. First resistance lies at $2.6000 and then at today’s high of $2.6245. First support is seen at today’s low of $2.5450 and then at $2.5200.
Wyckoff’s Market Rating: 7.0.
FEBRUARY UNLEADED GASOLINE
February (RBOB) unleaded gasoline closed down 754 points at $2.3601 today. Prices closed near the session low. Bulls are fading but still have the near-term technical advantage. The next upside price objective for the bulls is closing prices above resistance at $2.4500. Bears’ next downside price objective is closing prices below solid support at $2.3000. First resistance is seen at $2.400 and then at $2.4250. First support is seen at today’s low of $2.3541 and then at $2.3250.
Wyckoff’s Market Rating: 7.0.
FEBRUARY NATURAL GAS
February natural gas closed up 16.1 cents at $8.26 today. Prices closed near the session high again today and hit another fresh six-week high. More short covering and fresh speculative bargain-hunting buying was featured today. Bulls are gaining solid upside technical momentum. The next upside price objective for the bulls is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $8.400. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid technical support at $7.80. First resistance is seen at today’s high of $8.284 and then at $8.40. First support is seen at $8.00 and then at $7.90.
Wyckoff’s Market Rating: 6.5.
MARCH ORANGE JUICE
March orange juice closed down 285 points at $1.3390 today. Prices closed near the session low and hit a fresh six-week low today. Serious chart damage has been inflicted recently, including more today. It will likely take another weather scare in Florida to re-ignite the bulls in the coming weeks. The next upside technical objective for the bulls is to produce a close above solid chart resistance at $1.4000. The next downside price objective for the OJ bears is pushing and closing prices below solid support at the November low of $1.3050. First resistance is seen at $1.3600 and then at $1.3800. First support is seen at today’s low of $1.3340 and then at $1.3200.
Wyckoff’s Market Rating: 4.0.
MARCH LUMBER
March lumber futures closed down $6.20 at $236.30 today. Prices again closed near the session low and hit another fresh contract low today. The bears still have the solid overall near-term technical advantage. However, the market is way overdone on the downside, technically, and due for at least a decent corrective bounce very soon. The next upside technical objective for the lumber bulls is pushing prices above resistance at $245.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is pushing and closing prices below solid support at $230.00. First resistance is seen at $240.00 and then at today’s high of $242.30. First support is seen at today’s contract low of $235.40 and then at $232.50.
Wyckoff’s Market Rating: 1.0.
