WTI crude climbs to $94.59 as intraday volatility hits 3.28%

WTI crude futures swung $3.05 a barrel on June 8, closing at $94.59 after an intraday amplitude of 3.28%.

WTI crude futures closed at $94.59 a barrel on June 8 after a $3.05 intraday range, the widest single-session swing in three weeks as traders weighed supply constraints against demand uncertainty.

"The market is caught between OPEC's production discipline and growing concerns about a global economic slowdown that could cap demand," said Omar Tariq, senior energy analyst at Edgen. "A 3.28% amplitude in a single session tells you the conviction isn't there on either side."

Crude opened at $93.00 before sliding to a session low of $92.20, then rallying to $95.25 — a gain of $3.05 from trough to peak — before settling at $94.59. Volume reached 62,520 contracts, above the 20-day average. The close represented a $1.59 gain from the open, or 1.71%.

The wide range suggests the market is pricing in competing narratives: OPEC's extended production cuts versus softening manufacturing data from China and Europe. The next EIA inventory report, due June 11, will provide the first hard data point on U.S. crude stockpiles since the volatility spike.

The June 8 session marked the largest intraday amplitude for WTI since mid-May, when prices swung 3.5% on news of a delayed OPEC+ meeting. The $92.20 low tested support near the $92 level, a zone that has held since late May, while the $95.25 high approached resistance at $95.50, the upper boundary of the month-long trading range.

Supply-side factors remain the dominant driver. OPEC's latest production data shows the cartel and its allies maintained compliance with output cuts of roughly 2.2 million barrels a day through May, according to secondary-source estimates. On the demand side, China's crude imports slipped 2.3% in May from a year earlier, the first year-on-year decline in four months, customs data show.

The last time WTI posted a comparable single-session amplitude of more than 3% was on May 15, when prices swung 3.5% after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a larger-than-expected crude inventory draw of 4.5 million barrels. In the two weeks following that move, WTI gained 2.8% as the drawdown reinforced the supply-tightening narrative.

For traders, the June 8 price action reinforces the $92-to-$95.50 range as the near-term battleground. A break above $95.50 could open a path toward $98, the April high, while a drop below $92 would expose the $90 support level, last tested in late April. The EIA's weekly inventory report on Thursday will be the next catalyst.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.