Open interest in crude oil futures markets increased for the third session in a row on Thursday, now by nearly 4K contracts according to preliminary readings from CME Group. Volume followed suit and went up for the third consecutive session, this time by around 116.5K contracts.

WTI now targets the $80.00 mark

Prices of WTI extended their monthly rally and flirted with the key 200-day SMA above the $77.00 mark on Thursday. The strong uptick came amidst increasing open interest and volume and leaves the door open to the continuation of the uptrend to, initially, the key $80.00 mark per barrel in the very near term.