U.S. oil futures settle with a loss of more than 12%

Oil futures fell sharply Wednesday, with U.S. prices down by more than 12% just a day after settling at their highest since 2008. U.S. benchmark oil remains overbought and could continue to pullback towards an initial support zone between $107 and $112, said Tyler Richey, co-editor at Sevens Report Research. However, a retreat in prices would not shift the current bullish technical outlook for oil and the broader energy complex, he said. “If the Russia-Ukraine situation were to deteriorate meaningfully, we could quickly see a run towards the all-time highs” in oil prices, which provides a “measured move target of roughly $145 [a] barrel — just two dollars shy of the previous record.” On Wednesday, West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery CLJ22, -0.29% fell $15, or 12.1%, to settle at $108.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.