Open interest in crude oil futures markets went up by more than 1K contracts on Tuesday following three consecutive daily pullbacks, according to preliminary readings from CME Group. In the same line, volume reversed two daily drops in a row and rose by around 109.7K contracts.

WTI: Initial target emerges at the $80.00 mark

Tuesday’s uptick in prices of the WTI was in tandem with increasing open interest and volume and is indicative that extra upside appears in store in the very near term. Against that, the commodity faces an immediate hurdle at the key $80.00 mark per barrel just ahead of the February high at $80.57 (February 13).