By Matthew Campbell
Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil may rise to $90 by the end of the year after trading in a tight range for the last three weeks, according to Barclays Capital.
Crude oil has spent three weeks in a "bullish continuation flag" pattern, suggesting that prices will soon rise, Barclay’s analysts including Jordan Kotick and Phil Roberts wrote in a note for clients yesterday. A "bull flag" is a pattern of high and low prices that are close together and declining in parallel.
Crude oil for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed up 3.3 percent to $78.90 yesterday. It hasn’t closed below $77 or above $82 since Oct. 14. The contract traded at $78.75 as of 8:43 a.m. in New York.
"We look for the Flag formation to resolve higher and the bull trend to resume," the analysts wrote. "A break of $80.78 flag resistance confirms targeting 83/84 initially and 90/91 are into year-end."
Technical analysts use historical chart patterns to predict potential future price movements.