It’s Wednesday and the weekly American crude oil inventory cycle is complete. Earlier today, the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) reported a 2.979 million barrel draw on domestic oil inventories. Although this figure was a week-over-week improvement, it did miss expectations (-2.683M). In the wake of shrinking supplies, CME WTI crude futures are back on the bull. Prices are holding firm near $68.00 on fairly strong volumes.

Today’s EIA numbers come on the heels of yesterday afternoon’s stronger-than-expected API stocks figures. Tuesday’s API inventory stats came in at -1.622M, above expectations (-2.367M) but below last week’s number (-1.163M). At this point, this week’s inventory cycle hasn’t been much of a game-changer. Inventories are down moderately as late-summer demand persists.

For USOIL and WTI crude oil futures, it’s been a bullish three days on the markets. Prices are up more than 9% from Monday’s low ($61.74). Now, an upside bias is warranted as $70.00 is back in view.

Crude Oil Supplies Continue To Fall As WTI Rises

The past three days have been big for WTI crude oil prices, nearly erasing he previous seven-day losing streak. Can WTI and USOIL challenge yearly highs near $75.00 by October?

Bottom Line: If we see crude oil continue to rally, a late-week scalp may come into play for USOIL. Until Friday’s closing bell, I’ll have sell orders in the queue from $68.64. With an initial stop loss at $68.79, this trade produces a fast 12 pips on a short-term rejection of the Daily Bollinger MP ($68.66).