WTI Settles at $88.74, Up 2.55%, as Iran Headlines Flip Intraday Bias

The December WTI crude contract settled at $88.74/bbl on Thursday, up $2.21 or 2.55 percent — its second consecutive higher settle and the strongest close since Nov. 6. The session spanned $85.13 to $89.15, the widest range since Nov. 9, according to MyAlgoIndex, a technical analysis service publishing on TradingView.

The reversal coincided with a geopolitical headline. The 8:00 AM ET bar made the $85.13 session low and closed $1.43 higher at $87.26. At 8:07 AM ET, news feeds carried the US President's remark that the United States does not need a deal with Iran. The turn and the remark coincided, MyAlgoIndex noted.

How did the session develop?

The contract held between $86.20 and $87.83 through the 12:00 PM ET government inventory release. The data provider's market commentary described the report as bearish, though the attributed figures were not captured. Price then rose through the afternoon as Iranian state media reported an attack on Sirik from 2:02 PM ET. The $89.15 high printed in the 3:00 PM ET bar, after the 2:30 PM ET settlement.

Brent's January contract rose 3.30 percent to $95.82. Gasoline gained 2.43 percent and heating oil 1.79 percent. The dollar index rose 0.25 percent to 103.17, and the ten-year yield index closed at 5.10.

What do the indicators show?

The composite multi-indicator read stands at 16 percent sell with weak strength, improved from 24 percent sell a session earlier. Negative direction still leads on both directional systems. The settle sits above the 5-day settlement average for the first time since Oct. 30, but remains beneath the 9-day, 20-day and 50-day averages.

In MyAlgoIndex's interpretation, the bias is neutral to higher above the pivot point (an intraday mean derived from prior high, low and close) at $87.67. A dip toward that level is the more likely first test. A retest of Thursday's $89.15 high is the base case.

Resistance levels:

• $91.69 — Pivot R2
• $90.83 — 50 percent retracement of the 13-week range
• $90.72 — one standard deviation resistance
• $90.22 — Pivot R1
• $90.02 — 9-day settlement average
• $89.21 — 9-day average crossing level
• $89.15 — Thursday's session high

Support levels:

• $88.74 — Thursday's settle
• $88.10 — stochastic projection
• $87.80 — 5-day settlement average
• $87.67 — Pivot Point
• $87.49 — 38.2 percent retracement from the 13-week low
• $87.22 — MACD stall level
• $86.76 — one standard deviation support
• $86.20 — Pivot S1
• $85.13 — Thursday's session low

What is the trade setup?

MyAlgoIndex proposes a long position in the December contract from the $87.70–$88.00 band, between the pivot at $87.67 and the $88.10 stochastic projection. The stop sits at $86.95, beneath the $87.22 MACD stall and above one-standard-deviation support at $86.76.

Targets are $88.75 first, at the prior settle; $89.65 second, above Thursday's high; and $90.55 third, above Pivot R1 and beneath one-standard-deviation resistance. Risk-to-reward measures roughly 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 from the entry midpoint. The 14-day average true range is 4.33 points against a 0.90-point stop distance.

Invalidation is defined precisely. A settle beneath $87.22 negates the thesis. Two consecutive 30-minute closes beneath $87.70 remove the edge before the stop is reached.

The analysis flags two event risks that could carry price through the stop in one move: reports that talks with Iran have resumed, or a strong dollar response to the producer price index, scheduled for 8:30 AM ET on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, per the verified forward calendar. The author frames the call as analyst judgment that dips toward the pivot should be bought after Thursday's reversal.

Thursday's settle sat near the top of a range that engulfed Wednesday's entire session. Friday is a test of whether a dip holds above $87.67 into the 8:30 AM ET release, or whether a turn in Iran headlines carries the contract back through the $86.76 band toward the $85.13 low. All levels refer to the December contract, which expires Nov. 20.

The watch item: the 8:30 AM ET producer price index on Friday, and Iran headline risk into the Sunday reopen.