Crude oil is consolidating around recent highs as the fears of imminent US attacks on Iran eased. Nevertheless, the market remains supported amid persistent escalation risk given the prolonged stalemate in negotiations. Moreover, the talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran failed to produce any meaningful breakthrough, with no agreement announced to halt Houthi attacks or de-escalate the Saudi-Houthi conflict. Meanwhile, the Houthis yesterday targeted the Saudi’s East-West oil pipeline pumping stations and Riyadh airport. As a reminder, the East-West pipeline is a critical alternative export route and disruptions in September contributed to a surge in oil prices. Looking ahead, oil prices will remain supported amid the tensions in the Middle East and the prospects of another US attack. A de-escalation in the Saudi-Houthi conflict or a surprising breakthrough in US-Iran negotiations, on the other hand, should lead to a big correction. CRUDE OIL TECHNICAL ANALYSIS – DAILY TIMEFRAMEOn the daily chart, we can see that crude oil(CFD contract) is consolidating around recent highs. There’s not much we can glean from this timeframe as the most important levels remain the lower bound of the channel and the resistance around the 110.00 level, so we need to zoom in to see some more details.CRUDE OIL TECHNICAL ANALYSIS – 4 HOUR TIMEFRAMEOn the 4 hour chart, we have a minor upward trendline defining the bullish momentum. The buyers will likely continue to lean on the trendline, with a defined risk below it, to keep pushing into new highs. The sellers, on the other hand, will look for a break lower to extend the drop into the lower bound of the channel.CRUDE OIL TECHNICAL ANALYSIS – 1 HOUR TIMEFRAMEOn the 1 hour chart, we have a minor downward trendline defining the current pullback. The sellers will likely continue to lean on the trendline, with a defined risk above it, to keep targeting a break below the upward trendline. The buyers, on the other hand, will want to see the price breaking higher to increase the bullish bets into the 110.00 resistance. The red lines define the average daily range for today. UPCOMING CATALYSTSTodaywe get the US Consumer Confidence report. Tomorrow, we have the FOMC rate decision. On Thursday, we get the US GDP report, the US PCE and the latest US Jobless Claims figures. On Friday, we conclude the week with the US Employment Cost Index. The focus will remain on the Middle East developments. This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at investinglive.com.