Crude oil modestly bounces from fresh 2023 lows

WTI crude oil modestly bounced after posting a fresh 2023 low of $65.22 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate fell to $65.22 per barrel on Friday, its lowest since November 2022. It currently trades at around $67.30 a barrel, breaking lower amid financial turmoil weighing on the market mood. At the time of writing, it is trading at $66.83 per barrel. Brent Crude traded at around $75 early on Friday in Europe and at the time of writing it is trading at $72.95.

The banking crisis that was started by Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank last week grew worse, and Credit Suisse came under attack as its largest shareholder decided against giving the company financial support. Despite government efforts to make sure the banking system was resilient enough to handle the situation, stock markets crashed.

Yet, worries persisted after SVB formally declared bankruptcy on Friday, and First Republic, yet another bank, came under fire. The European and US indexes are trading in the red and are likely to end the week in the red territory.

While all is going on, WTI is down for the fifth day running, and daily technical readings point to more declines in the near future. Once below the aforementioned low, the decline can continue to the monthly low of $62.41 in December 2021. The latter will probably prompt speculative buying if it breaks below it, with $60.00 serving as a significant psychological barrier. Black gold is now selling for roughly $70.00, and gains above that price are unlikely.