Crude oil: At the beginning of the week, we suggested going long at 81.1 with a stop loss at 80.5. Yesterday during the Asian session, the price continued to rise, testing a high of 83.7 before pulling back to 82.7 after the European session opened. After the US session opened, the price saw a slight rally. Despite negative data, it surged to 83.6 but failed to hold. The 15-minute K-line formed a doji, and the late session tested a low of 82.4 before closing at 82.8. This morning, the price remains bullish, currently trading around 82.9 at the time of writing.

From a technical perspective, Monday saw the price stabilize at the bottom of 80.7, while Tuesday saw a rally followed by a pullback to test support. Wednesday's price action was weak and corrective. For Thursday, we expect a pullback to around 82.1 during the Asian and European sessions as a defensive level. As long as this level holds, the price is expected to trade within the 80.7-85.65 range, buying low and selling high. Therefore, today's strategy suggested by Xu Gucheng is to go long at 82.1, targeting 83.5-83.7, with a stop loss at 81.45. If 83.7 is broken, expect a rise to 84.3 and above 85.65 this week. If the US session rallies to around 84, consider going short targeting 82.5-82.