WTI Traders Target $88.20 Before a Test of the $83.88 Floor

Daniel Okafor

WTI crude was trading around $86.10, inside a $4.82 range bounded by the November 10 low of $83.88 and the November 11 high of $88.70. The easyMarkets technical analysis sets out a fresh short at $88.20, targeting $84.00, with a stop at $89.60. The setup offers roughly 1:3 reward-to-risk. Arithmetic first. Conviction second.

What did the earlier short capture?

easyMarkets said its prior WTI idea sought to sell a retest of broken $87.00 support. The order filled on November 11 when price spiked to $88.70. Its $89.40 stop has not been touched. The new plan uses a slightly wider $89.60 stop, placing protection above the November 11 high and inside the lower edge of the cited supply area.

easyMarkets wrote: “the bigger move is still lower.” That judgment followed a decline from around $105 to the mid-$80s in less than three weeks, a fall of about $20, or 19%.

Takeaway: The earlier trade entered at the first strong rejection, while the proposed trade waits for another rally into the same region.

Why does the four-hour chart still lean bearish?

The sequence of lower highs supplies the case: $92.40 on November 5, $91.40 on November 9, and $88.70 on November 11. Each rally into the high $80s met sellers, according to easyMarkets.

The author wrote: “the area just under the 89.00 to 91.50 supply zone remains the better place to look for a fresh short.” That makes $89.00-$91.50 the preferred selling region, rather than the middle of the recent range.

Takeaway: The bearish case rests on repeated lower rally highs, not on a claim that every downward move must continue.

What does the proposed trade plan require?

• Direction: Short.
• Entry: $88.20, inside the November 11 rejection area of $88.00-$88.70.
• Stop loss: $89.60, inside the lower half of supply and above the November 11 high.
• Take profit: $84.00, just above the November 10 low of $83.88.
• Risk to reward: Roughly 1:3.

The $1.40 distance from entry to stop implies a $4.20 move to the target. easyMarkets presents the proposal as a tactical trading plan for educational purposes, not as investment advice.

Takeaway: The setup pays only if sellers meet the entry area before the stop.

What would change the bearish view?

A four-hour close above $89.00 would put WTI back into the supply zone and suggest that selling momentum was fading. A clean break below $83.88 would instead put the late-August base of $79.50-$81.00 in play without requiring a pullback.

That base sits $2.88-$4.38 below the range floor. The proposed trade plan does not set a take-profit target there; it sets $84.00. The distinction matters because a downside break and a fresh short entry are different events.

Takeaway: Above $89.00, the bearish setup loses its clean signal; below $83.88, it gains room to run.

How much risk sits around the trade?

Oil can move a full $1.00 in an hour around inventory data and headlines, easyMarkets said. The author keeps the $1.40 stop fixed and uses Dealsize.ai to calculate position size from that distance. A journal then tracks whether range-top entries perform better than breakout entries; the source provides no results yet.

The provider also warns that 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with it. It advises readers to consider whether they can afford the high risk of losing money and to consult its full risk disclaimer.

The analysis says it does not consider any individual’s financial situation, needs or objectives, and that past performance does not reliably indicate future results. A fixed stop sets trade-level risk. It does not remove account-level risk.

Takeaway: Position sizing can make a plan manageable. It cannot make the market obliging.

What should traders watch?

The source frames the decision as a choice: sell the next rally into resistance, or wait for a break below $83.88. Inventory releases and headlines deserve attention because they can produce the hourly volatility cited in the analysis.

The near-term watch item is a four-hour close above $89.00 or a decisive break below $83.88. The first challenges the short thesis; the second opens the late-August base.