US SPR release dampens WTI price rally outlook

Expectations for a rise in West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices have cooled following the release of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and a downward revision of this year's demand forecast by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Traders on the decentralized prediction market Polymarket are now forecasting a 53.5% probability that WTI prices will exceed $105 per barrel in the second week of May, a drop of 21 percentage points. Meanwhile, the price of CLUSDT, an on-chain WTI crude oil perpetual futures contract, is trading at $98.00, according to Aster.