U.S. President’s announcement of a naval “armada” deployment to the Middle East has heightened supply‐risk concerns and propelled WTI oil futures to multi‐week highs. Traders reacted to the prospect of escalated tensions with Iran by pushing WTI above key resistance near sixty dollars per barrel, marking the fifth daily gain in seven sessions. Open interest in WTI contracts rose by 4% on the New York Mercantile Exchange, underscoring growing speculative positioning as portfolio managers increased net long exposure by an estimated 15,000 contracts over the past two days.

WTI has consolidated in a narrow thirty‐cent range following its latest rally, setting up a breakout scenario for chart analysts. The 14‐day Relative Strength Index has climbed to 67, close to overbought territory, while the 50‐day moving average now sits just below current levels, offering technical support around fifty‐eight dollars. Option traders have shown a skew toward calls, with implied volatility for two‐week WTI options rising to 28%, up from 22% a fortnight ago, suggesting that market participants are pricing in potential upside into the mid‐sixties in the coming weeks.

The latest U.S. Energy Information Administration weekly report revealed a 3.6 million‐barrel build in domestic crude inventories, the largest increase since early spring. Cushing, Oklahoma stocks climbed by 1.2 million barrels, widening the regional surplus and weighing on WTI’s prompt spread. Refinery utilization dipped to 89.4% from 90.8% the prior week, limiting processing throughput. Following the report, WTI pared gains by nearly 1.5% intraday before stabilizing near current levels as traders balanced geopolitical drivers against the bearish supply data.