Crude oil falls as gasoline prices remain elevated.

Equity markets have ripped higher over the last two weeks as investors became more hopeful of an end to the conflict in the Middle East. However, energy related commodities, particularly oil and gasoline, have remained elevated. That isn’t to say that some progress has been made for consumers at the pump. Crude Oil Continuous (CL/) gave a sell signal on its less sensitive 2-point chart following Tuesday’s action. While crude oil has bounced back and forth between giving buy and sell signals (expected given the heightened volatility), this recent sell signal breaks intermediate series of higher lows. In other words, the breakdown this week breaks a positive trendline that started after crude oil’s initial shock high. The chart’s bullish support line is still ten points away at $82, but these secondary trend lines can come in handy following a large upside or downside move.

Gasoline prices have also softened, but not to the same extent as crude oil prices. This is natural as gasoline must be processed, which creates a lag between input and output prices. Nonetheless, Gasoline Reformulated Continuous (UJ/) trades on a sell signal with established resistance from $3.20 to $3.40. Unlike crude oil, gasoline is still holding its secondary trend line following the initial shock move higher. There is also support at $2.90 on its 5-cent chart, which is an area where gasoline has found resistance over the last few years. For those that have energy exposure via stocks or ETFs, keep a close eye on gasoline as an indicator for any tailwinds/headwinds for the sector.