The moment of truth is nearby for crude oil now that the latest inventory data shows building supplies. Into the data and in reaction to worse than expected data, prices are under pressure as they revisit critical near-term support at 77.00-76.55, which must contain the weakness to avert additional weakness into the $74.00 area next.

The equivalent support zone for the US Oil Trust ETF (USO) is 39.30-38.90. If nearby crude breaks key support, the high-level consolidation pattern carved out off of the October 21 high will be invalidated.

Mike Paulenoff is a 26-year veteran of the financial markets and author of MPTrader.com.