Why Oil Traders Are Watching Patterns, Not Politics

The last month or so has been a wild ride for those who trade oil futures or invest in energy stocks, which presumably describes pretty much everyone reading this. In the last few days of February, just before Israel and the US attacked Iranian targets, WTI futures were bouncing around the $65 level. That represented a five-month high but was still well within the range that seemed reasonable at the time. Presumably, at that point, the market generally agreed with my view that Donald Trump’s stated opposition to wars and entanglements outside…