International oil prices touched a more than three-week high on Thursday (Aug. 25), as tight supply concerns intensified due to Russian export disruptions, possible production cuts by major oil producers and partial shutdowns of U.S. refineries. nymex crude oil is expected to rise toward $96.79.

NYMEX crude oil futures rose 0.62% to $95.48/barrel at 16:00 (UCT+8) on Aug. 25. ICE Brent crude oil futures rose 0.85% to $101.17/barrel. Both hit new highs since Aug. 3 to $95.76/barrel and $101.25/barrel, respectively.

The Saudi energy minister previously said that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) would defend prices by cutting production if necessary. And talks aimed at resuming Iran's nuclear program remain stalled, with any expectations of a return to international markets for Iranian crude questioned.

Talks between the European Union, the United States and Iran on resuming the 2015 nuclear deal continue, with Iran saying it has received a U.S. response to the "final" text provided by the EU.

Falling U.S. crude and product inventories also added to the upward pressure on prices. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said oil inventories fell by 3.282 million barrels to 421.7 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 19, a much larger decline than the 933,000 barrels expected.

Watch for further news on the Iran nuclear deal negotiations this session, and watch for changes in U.S. initial jobless claims and the performance of the U.S. GDP revision for the second quarter.

Daily level: oscillation up; MACD golden cross, KDJ golden cross, 5-day SMA continuous up through the 10-day SMA and 21-day SMA, is currently testing the 200-day SMA resistance, is expected to be more likely to break the short term, oil prices are expected to further test the 55-day SMA near 100.06 resistance, Bollinger mid-rail resistance is also near the location, further resistance in the July 29 high of 101.86 Nearby, then the 100-day SMA near 103.83 resistance.

Given that the 200-day SMA still forms a suppression of oil prices, and the resistance near the resistance is stronger, oil prices have risen for three consecutive trading days, the possibility of a small pullback in the short term can not be ruled out, however, before the loss of the 5-day SMA 92.98, the market is still biased towards the long side; 10-day SMA support is currently near 90.95, focus on the 90 integer mark support, if the unexpected fall back below this position, it increases Short-term bearish signal.