Open interest in crude oil futures markets dropped by around 1.4K contracts on Monday, extending the erratic performance seen as of late according to preliminary readings from CME Group. Volume followed suit and went down by nearly 313K contracts after five consecutive daily builds.

WTI: Next on the downside comes $78.00

WTI prices rose marginally and closed just above the $80.00 mark per barrel on Monday. The move, however, was on the back of shrinking open interest and volume, leaving the commodity vulnerable to further weakness in the very near term. That said, the next contention area emerges at the 200-day SMA, today at $78.15.