Crude Oil futures prices slip, here’s why

The recent pullback for crude oil futures prices is exactly what I’ve been
calling for over the past couple of weeks. Primarily because this market rarely
breaks to new highs and holds for very long before heading lower. Crude oil
needs to gather steam once more before making another the push to the upside and
the recent inventory numbers seem to be the perfect excuse to do just that.

Don’t think for a second that I am discounting the latest and greatest from the
few rogue producers out there that seem to be hell bent on creating panic and
wild speculation in the market place. There is no question that the primary
motivator behind some of the conflicts we are seeing right now from Iran,
Venezuela and Nigeria etc…is greed. That doesn’t mean that these problems aren’t
real and that they can’t have a real effect on crude oil prices if some of these
situations were to escalate further. These countries are producers and that
alone puts them at odds with us as consumers. There is and old saying in the
world of salesmen that says “The best price for me, is the highest price
you’ll pay; the best price for you is the lowest price I’ll sell it for, let’s
meet somewhere in the middle”. Right now I think they’re finding out what
their best price is and until demand is notably affected by rising crude oil
futures prices then they will surely go higher.

While crude oil futures prices have slipped somewhat over the past week it is
important to note that they are still in a very bullish uptrend and until we see
some fundamentals or technicals that point the other direction I remain a long
term bull with a short term pullback. We are currently holding a bear put ladder
spread in crude that achieves max profits between $67.00 and $66.00. Reference
the chart below.