• WTI grinds within immediate bullish channel after snapping five-day downtrend.
• Key moving averages, monthly resistance line challenge buyers.
• Bears need to conquer $72.70 to retake control, $76.70 acts as immediate support.

WTI pares the week-start gains as it prints mild losses around $77.30 during Tuesday’s Asian session. In doing so, the black gold trades inside a two-day-old ascending trend channel.

Adding strength to the recovery moves could be the looming bull cross on the MACD, as well as a clear bounce off the six-week-old horizontal support zone, near $72.50-70.

It’s worth noting, however, that the quote’s upside break of the stated channel’s top, around $78.10 at the latest, could find it difficult to lure the Oil buyers as a convergence of the 50-SMA and the 200-SMA might restrict the black gold’s further upside near $78.40.

Even if the quote rises past $78.40, a downward-sloping resistance line from January 27 and the multiple tops marked since late January, respectively near $79.15 and $82.60-65 by the press time, will be crucial to watch for WTI traders past $78.40.

Meanwhile, pullback moves remain elusive unless staying inside the stated bullish channel, currently between $76.65 and $78.10.

Following that, $75.10 and $74.30 may entertain WTI crude oil bears before directing them to the “doubt bottom” marked around $72.50-65.

Overall, WTI is likely to remain firmer inside the $72.50 and $82.65 trading range.

WTI: Four-hour chart

Trend: Limited upside expected