The weekly inventory data from the EIA showed:Crude oil inventories fell -4.450 million barrels versus -1.085 million estimate.Gasoline inventories fell -1.173 million versus -1.850 million estimateDistillates rose 0.796 million versus estimates of a drawdown of -1.275 million.The private data released late yesterday showed:crude oil inventories -2.6 millionGasoline inventories +300,000Distillates -300,000. A larger-than-expected decline in crude oil inventories generally supports higher oil prices. Why? Inventories are oil held in storage. When those supplies fall more than anticipated, it can signal tighter supply or stronger demand. However, the inventory report is only one influence on prices.Crude has rebounded from today’s low of $88.97 to around $90.05. That still leaves the price down about $0.20 on the day, but the modest decline follows yesterday’s sharp 5% gain.From a technical perspective, yesterday’s rally cleared two important levels that came together at $86.53:The 100-day moving average: The average price over the past 100 trading days, which traders use to help assess the broader trend.The 38.2% retracement: A level marking where the price had recovered 38.2% of its decline from the April 7 high.When two technical indicators meet at the same price, that area can attract more attention. For crude, $86.53 is now a key dividing line for buyers and sellers. Holding above it keeps the technical outlook more favorable for buyers. Moving back below it would weaken that outlook and suggest the breakout is losing momentum.On the upside, today’s high of $92.29 came within $0.18 of the 50% retracement at $92.47. That midpoint represents a recovery of half the decline from the April 7 high. Buyers need to push above—and stay above—that level to strengthen their case for further gains. The next target would then be the July 23 high at $93.50.For traders watching the broader move, the key technical boundaries are support at $86.53 and resistance at $92.47. Support is an area where buyers may step in; resistance is where sellers may slow or stop a rally.That is a wide range, reflecting the sharp swings as traders react to Middle Eastern developments. These levels provide reference points, not guarantees: holding support favors the buyers, while breaking resistance would give them another sign of progress This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.