• WTI crude oil edged lower during the Asian session on Wednesday.
• Profit-taking sets in amid overbought conditions on short-term charts.
• The formation of an ascending channel still favours bullish traders.

WTI crude oil witnessed some selling during the Asian session on Wednesday and slipped below mid-$79.00s, though lacked any strong follow-through.

Looking at the technical picture, the recent strong move to multi-year tops stalled near a resistance marked by the top boundary of a one-month-old ascending channel. Overbought conditions on short-term charts seemed to be the only factor that prompted bullish traders to take some profits off the table.

That said, the commodity, so far, has managed to hold its neck above the overnight swing lows, around the $79.00/barrel mark. This should now act as a key pivotal point for intraday traders, which if broken decisively should pave the way for a deeper corrective pullback for the black gold.

The next relevant support is pegged near the $78.40 horizontal level ahead of the $78.00 round figure and the $77.30 region. Spot prices could eventually break through the $77.00 mark and accelerate the slide towards challenging the trend-channel support, currently near the $76.80-70 region.

On the flip side, the $80.00 psychological mark now seems to act as immediate resistance. A sustained strength beyond has the potential to lift the commodity back to the $81.00 level. The momentum could further get extended towards the trend-channel hurdle, around the $81.80-85 region.

WTI 4-hour chart

Technical levels to watch