{"id":17482,"date":"2025-06-19T13:03:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T13:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/in\/?p=17482"},"modified":"2025-06-19T13:03:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T13:03:32","slug":"oil-retreats-as-markets-weigh-middle-east-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/analysis\/oil-retreats-as-markets-weigh-middle-east-tensions\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil Retreats as Markets Weigh Middle East Tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"559\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/in\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/oil4-1024x559-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/oil4-1024x559-1.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/oil4-1024x559-1-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/oil4-1024x559-1-768x419.png 768w, https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/oil4-1024x559-1-500x273.png 500w, https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/oil4-1024x559-1-400x218.png 400w, https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/oil4-1024x559-1-350x191.png 350w, https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/oil4-1024x559-1-200x109.png 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Key Points<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>WTI crude falls to $73.33 after hitting $74.26 as U.S. remains silent on Tehran<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fed signals two rate cuts by year-end, supporting medium-term demand outlook<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures slipped below $75 per barrel on Thursday, with prices closing at $73.33 following an intraday high of $74.26. The retreat reversed gains from earlier in the week, as traders adjusted positions in response to murky signals from Washington on possible U.S. intervention in the escalating Israel-Iran conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>President Trump met with senior defence and intelligence advisers on Wednesday to discuss&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jOA6SpyCe9\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities<\/a>, but the White House did not issue any conclusive statement on military action. With no immediate clarity, oil markets lost momentum, though prices remained elevated\u2014still hovering near a five-month high as the Middle East standoff entered its seventh day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The primary market risk remains the potential&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BKEmKo118y\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disruption of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, a narrow but critical shipping lane for about 20% of global crude flows. Though Tehran has not threatened exports directly, any signal of blockade or retaliation could rapidly spike prices due to the region\u2019s strategic importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From a macroeconomic lens, the&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lsoGQzzw6b\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Federal Reserve\u2019s policy update<\/a>&nbsp;added another layer of complexity. The central bank opted to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday but signalled that two rate cuts are expected before the end of the year. This dovish turn implies greater support for economic activity and, by extension, oil demand in the second half of 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Technical Analysis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the past day, crude oil rallied sharply from around $67 to a peak of $74.26, then pulled back yet maintained a clear uptrend. The price action broke above the 5-, 10-, and 30\u2011period MAs in a strong bullish sweep, with the 5\u2011MA riding well above the longer averages\u2014signalling robust short\u2011term momentum. A MACD crossover occurred following the breakout, and the histogram extended positive, confirming continued upward momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"437\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/in\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/ca5bb796-15be-4f8e-885e-1dd36be474be-1024x437.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/ca5bb796-15be-4f8e-885e-1dd36be474be-1024x437.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/ca5bb796-15be-4f8e-885e-1dd36be474be-300x128.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/ca5bb796-15be-4f8e-885e-1dd36be474be-768x328.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/ca5bb796-15be-4f8e-885e-1dd36be474be-500x213.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/ca5bb796-15be-4f8e-885e-1dd36be474be-400x171.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/ca5bb796-15be-4f8e-885e-1dd36be474be-350x149.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/ca5bb796-15be-4f8e-885e-1dd36be474be-200x85.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/ca5bb796-15be-4f8e-885e-1dd36be474be.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>However, a mild retracement followed the spike, as profit\u2011taking emerged near the $74 mark. The price briefly retested the 10\u2011MA (purple) and 30\u2011MA (yellow), finding support before consolidating just above $73.30. The MACD histogram contracted, yet the MACD lines remain above zero\u2014suggesting that bulls still dominate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While traders are now pricing in a more accommodative Fed outlook, geopolitical risk continues to dominate near-term sentiment. Should the U.S. take a more active military role or if Tehran targets energy infrastructure, crude prices could easily surge past the $75 level again. Until then, the market is likely to remain rangebound, with any shifts in diplomatic or military posture acting as the next trigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/trade-now\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.vtmarkets.com\/login?_gl=1*1azgbap*_gcl_au*NjE5NTE3MjY4LjE3NDQ2MDA3NDI.*_ga*MTY4OTgwNTU5Mi4xNzM2NzQ2MTgy*_ga_J26NL1ZVX7*czE3NDQ5NDQ0NTYkbzEyMCRnMCR0MTc0NDk0NDQ1NiRqNjAkbDAkaDA.\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">start trading<\/a>&nbsp;now.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Points West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures slipped below $75 per barrel on Thursday, with prices closing at $73.33 following an intraday high of $74.26. The retreat reversed gains from earlier in the week, as traders adjusted positions in response to murky signals from Washington on possible U.S. intervention in the escalating Israel-Iran <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/analysis\/oil-retreats-as-markets-weigh-middle-east-tensions\/\" class=\"read-more\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-mena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}