Crude oil futures prices this week have plummeted amid the U.S and European banking crisis that prompted heightened fears of weakening global economic growth and in turn reduced worldwide demand for energy. Nymex crude fell to a 15-month low below $66 a barrel. The technical posture of crude oil has quickly turned significantly bearish. Such suggests that in the coming weeks or few months crude oil prices can slide even farther. Importantly, crude oil is the leader of the raw commodity sector. Oil’s sharp declines this week are a significantly bearish “shot across the bow” for the entire raw commodity sector. Speculators will find it very hard to be a buyer of raw commodity futures when their sector leader sees its price trending lower. Stay tuned! Jim Wyckoff