Wesley Chapel, Florida, January 5, 2009  -- Crude oil futures for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange in late December hit a fresh contract low of $35.13 a barrel. However, prices have recently rebounded amid fresh turmoil in the Middle East as violence has flared between Israel and Hamas.

The next major downside price objective for the crude oil market bears is to push nearby futures prices below psychological support at $30.00. Below that lies major psychological support at $25.00 a barrel. There are market soothsayers who are confidently predicting crude prices will touch the $25.00 mark at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Very few, if any, could have imagined crude oil prices dropping by over $100.00 a barrel in a mere five months' time. Yet, not many would have envisioned a world economic and financial crisis of proportions not seen since the 1930s. The result of such has been a dramatic decline in demand for energy worldwide.

From an important Intermarket analysis perspective provided by VantagePoint Intermarket Analysis software (www.TraderTech.com), there are some very early technical clues to suggest a near-term market bottom is in place.

  
Source: VantagePoint Intermarket Analysis Software (www.TraderTech.com)

VantagePoint is a valuable trading tool for which a trader can glean clues on potential near-term price trend changes or continuation of present trends. These near-term clues provided by VantagePoint can and do give a trader a key edge.

See on the VantagePoint daily bar chart for February crude oil futures that the Predicted Medium Term Crossover study shows the blue predicted 4 day exponential moving average has just crossed above the actual black 10 day simple moving average close, which is a near-term bullish signal.

The Predicted Medium Term Crossover is the predicted 4 day exponential moving average of typical prices two days ahead (P4EMA+2) crosses above or below the actual 10 day simple moving average close (A10SMA).

Also note on the daily chart for February crude oil that VantagePoint's Predicted Neural Index (PIndex) is presently reading 1.00, also suggesting upside price pressure in the near term. When the predicted simple three-day moving average value of typical prices is greater than today's actual three-day moving average value, the Predicted Neural Index is "1.00," indicating that the market is expected to move higher over the next two days. When the predicted simple three-day moving average value of typical prices is less than today's actual three-day moving average value, the Predicted Neural Index is "0.00," indicating the market is expected to move lower over the next two days. The PIndex is a proprietary indicator that predicts whether or not a three-day simple moving average of the typical price will be higher or lower two days in the future than it is today. The Predicted Neural Index compares two three-day moving averages to one another - today's actual three-day moving average with a predicted three-day moving average.

About Market Technologies, LLC
Headquartered in Tampa Bay since its founding in 1979 by Louis B. Mendelsohn, with trading software customers in over 90 countries worldwide, Market Technologies is a fast growing, Inc. 500, company and recognized world leader in market forecasting. Market Technologies researches and develops proprietary trend forecasting and market timing technologies that utilize artificial intelligence applied to intermarket and hurricaneomic analysis, in order to forecast various commodity and financial markets throughout the world. These presently include, but are not limited to, stocks, stock indexes, ETFs, energies, interest rates, currencies, metals, grains, meats, softs and Forex, covering over 600 world markets. (www.TraderTech.com)

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