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West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil remains under pressure on Tuesday, extending its decline for a fourth consecutive day as persistent oversupply concerns continue to dominate market sentiment. At the time of writing, WTI is trading around $55.41, down nearly 2% on the day, after briefly slipping to its lowest level since April 9.

The latest leg lower comes as renewed optimism around a potential Russia-Ukraine peace breakthrough fuels expectations that additional Russian crude could return to global markets, adding to an already oversupplied environment.

Demand-side concerns are also resurfacing, as signs of an economic slowdown in China, the world’s second-largest economy, weigh on the outlook. Softer Chinese data, including weaker Industrial Output and Retail Sales, have reinforced worries that Oil demand may remain subdued in the near term.

Attention now turns to the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Crude Oil Stocks Change report on Wednesday.

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From a technical perspective, WTI’s broader outlook remains tilted to the downside, with price action continuing to respect a descending channel that has guided the trend since late July.

WTI is trading below its key moving averages on the daily chart, reinforcing the prevailing bearish bias, while prices hover near year-to-date lows, leaving the downside vulnerable.

A daily close below the $55.00 psychological level could open the door for a deeper pullback toward $53.00, the lower boundary of the descending channel, followed by the $50.00 psychological handle.

On the upside, overhead resistance from the 21-day and 50-day Simple Moving Averages (SMAs), near $58.50-$59.10, continues to cap recovery attempts. Any rebound is likely to attract selling interest ahead of the $60.00 level, and unless prices manage a sustained move back above this zone, the near-term technical outlook remains bearish.

Momentum indicators support this view. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) remains subdued near 32, staying close to oversold territory . Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) line sits below the Signal line and the zero mark, with the negative histogram widening, suggesting strengthening bearish momentum.

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