<Fundamental>
Oil prices, which had hit their lowest due to concerns about a slowdown in the US manufacturing economy and job market, stopped falling and rose for five consecutive trading days. As the US labor market shows signs of recovery, concerns related to the US economic outlook have diminished, and worsening geopolitical concerns in the Middle East are also putting upward pressure on oil prices.
In particular, the rebound in US Initial Jobless Claims has somewhat diluted concerns about a decline in oil demand. Last week, Weekly Jobless Claims reached 233K, down 17,000 from the previous week and below market expectations of 241K.
In addition, China's July CPI, which exceeded expectations, also helped improve the recent market mood. China's National Bureau of Statistics announced that the CPI rose 0.5% in July, showing an upward trend for the sixth consecutive month, raising expectations of increased Chinese oil demand.
<Technical>
USOIL reached a bottom of 71.20 and rose for five consecutive trading days, rebounding to the 79.00 level. The price has formed a descending channel since early July, but the recent rebound quickly breached the channel’s upper bound. Moreover, EMA21 has golden-crossed EMA78, sending a typical bullish signal.
If USOIL sustains the current uptrend and breaches the 79.70 resistance, the price may gain upward momentum toward the 81.70 level. Conversely, if USOIL fails to hold above the 78.00 support, the price could fall further to the 76.50 level.