Although I frequently call attention to rallies that have chickened out just shy of some external peak, in this case August Crude’s ability to exceed just such a peak, even if by only a hair, is reason for a bullish bias, at least for the near term. The 99.68 target of the pattern shown looks like it’s in-the-bag, since its 96.57 midpoint sibling has been handily exceeded. ______ UPDATE (12:55 p.m. EDT): The futures rallied sharply, peaking at 99.42.  Since this vehicle does not deliver the absolutely precise target-hits of, for one, the E-Mini S&Ps, the 26 cent shortfall should be regarded as insignificant and the target as having been achieved.  Typically, when we initiate trades in Crude against the swings, I advise allowing leeway of at least 21 cents.  Actually, that is the main reason we do not often trade this vehicle — i.e., because it does not always perform perfectly in line with our expectations.