The price of crude oil is up sharply this week after closing last week near $83.50. The rally gained momentum after the price moved above two important technical levels near $86.60: the 100-day moving average and the 38.2% retracement of the decline from the April 2026 high to the July 2026 low.When different technical tools identify roughly the same price, that area becomes more significant. Moving above the $86.60 cluster shifted the technical bias more firmly in favor of the buyers and gave them the go-ahead to target the next resistance area.That resistance was defined by another area consisting of a number of technical levels :The 50% midpoint of the April-to-July decline at $92.87.A series of swing highs going back to mid-June near $93.50.KEY LESSSON: Pay careful attention to technical levels defined by multiple tools. The price reached a high of $93.14, between those two levels, before rotating modestly lower. The area between $92.87 and $93.50 remains a key ceiling for buyers to break if the bullish trend is to continue.There is an important lesson for traders in that price action. When several technical levels converge in the same area—such as a Fibonacci retracement and previous swing highs—traders will often lean against that zone and place stops above it. The reason is simple: the area provides a clearly defined level for both bias and risk.If the resistance holds, a rotation in the opposite direction becomes more likely. That does not necessarily mean the broader rally is over, but it can signal that the market is ready for a corrective move as some buyers take profits and short-term sellers enter the market.That correction took crude oil down to and briefly below its rising 100-hour moving average, currently near $89.62. The 100-hour moving average is an important short-term barometer. Trading above it keeps the buyers in greater control, while a sustained move below it would give sellers more confidence.However, the shorter-term five-minute chart provided another technical clue (see chart below). The move below the 100-hour moving average stalled before reaching the 38.2% retracement of the rally from the August 26 low. That retracement comes in at $88.00, which is also a psychologically important round-number level. The low for the day reached $88.72, comfortably above that support target, before the price rotated back to the upside.Holding above the 38.2% retracement suggests that the decline was corrective rather than the start of a more significant bearish reversal—at least for now. Buyers are attempting to restore the upside momentum, but they still have work to do.In the video above, I take a closer look at the price action and the key technical levels currently in play. I explain what buyers need to accomplish to strengthen the bullish bias and what would need to happen to shift control more decisively in favor of the sellers.For a look of the recent fundamentals, see Adam's post HERE. This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.