WTI crude oil technical analysis: Trump and Zelensky meeting is imminent, bearish tone remains unchanged

On Monday (August 18), WTI crude oil fluctuated around $62 on the time-sharing chart, and was in a short-term volatile state as a whole. The short-term bearish trend has not been completely eliminated.

After Trump and Putin held a meeting in Alaska last Friday, WTI crude oil fell as low as $61.65, and the price has now rebounded from its lows to around $62.45.

Although US President Donald Trump called the talks "productive", he did not disclose any details of a potential ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine. At present, the market focus has turned to today's meeting between Ukrainian President Zelensky and a number of European leaders and Trump to monitor the follow-up progress.

Next, we will analyze the latest short-term technical factors of WTI crude oil CFDs from a technical analysis perspective, and their short-term (1-3 days) direction bias.

The bearish trend remains unchanged

(WTI crude oil 1-hour chart, source: Internet)

WTI crude oil is bearish, with short-term key pivot resistance in the $63.85-64 range. A price break below $62.50 would further confirm the continuation of the underlying bearish pulsed downtrend, which could lead to the next medium-term support at $61.30 (the price gap on June 2, 2025), and the $60.60-60 range (which is both a Fibonacci extension and the bottom of the short-term downward channel formed since the high on July 31, 2025).

Key technical factors

WTI crude oil has been oscillating within a short-term downward channel since its peak of $71.33 on July 31, 2025, indicating that the short-term downward phase is not yet over.

The upper track of the aforementioned short-term downward channel constitutes a key medium-term resistance level, corresponding to a price of $64.18.

The hourly Relative Strength Index (RSI) momentum indicator did not show any bullish divergence signals and just retreated near the 50 level. These signals suggest that short-term bearish momentum has not weakened.

If the price rises above $64.18, the bearish scenario expires, which may trigger a mean reversion of the rebound trend, and then explore the next medium-term resistance level: $64.85, $65.60, and $66.30 (this price is also the downtrend level of the 20-day moving average).

At 17:53 Beijing time, WTI crude oil was reported at $62.52/barrel, an increase of 0.87%.