On Friday (January 3) in the Asian session, international oil prices fluctuated narrowly at high levels, and US crude oil is currently trading around $73.18 per barrel. On Thursday, oil prices closed more than $1 per barrel higher on the first trading day of 2025, hitting a new high in more than two and a half months. After the Asian giant promised to promote growth, investors returning from the holiday were optimistic about the recovery of China's economy and fuel demand. Although the increase in US gasoline and distillate inventories put pressure on oil prices and curbed the gains, from a technical point of view, short-term opportunities are still clearly biased towards bulls.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released US weekly inventory data on Thursday, showing that US crude oil inventories fell less than expected last week, down 1.2 million barrels to 415.6 million barrels last week, while analysts expected a decrease of 2.8 million barrels. The surge in gasoline and distillate inventories last week made crude oil bulls slightly cautious.

From the daily level, crude oil prices in the medium term have fallen again to the lower edge of the wide range, testing the lower edge of the range, and the range range is between 78.80-65.50. The medium-term objective trend has not yet escaped the range. From the perspective of form, the medium-term trend shows a double bottom reversal pattern. The second drop in oil prices has changed in the time period of more than 2 months. The oil price broke through the range and reversed to the upper edge of the range. Crude oil will be supported in the medium term and usher in a wave of rebound and rise.

The short-term (1H) trend of crude oil continues to rise to a new high, and the oil price breaks through 73. The moving average system diverges and arranges upward, and the short-term objective trend direction remains upward. The short-term main trend rhythm also remains upward. The objective and subjective trend directions are consistent. In the morning, oil prices adjusted narrowly around 73.30, and the bullish momentum was full. If crude oil stabilizes at the 73 price level, it will further open up the room for growth. Today: 73.00 long, stop loss: 72.60, target 74.00.

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.