The $120 oil spike was typical 'peak panic' marking a top, says Bank of America

The whiplash in oil prices on Monday may indicate that the commodity has reached a short-term peak, according to Bank of America. In a Monday note, technical strategist Paul Ciana described Monday’s moves in oil markets as “peak panic,” when prices surged to $120 per barrel overnight before falling through the day, retreating back below $90 in late trading. For Brent Crude prices, Ciana thinks $120 in the short-term marks a top, though he cautioned investors that they should expect prices to remain high. He predicted Brent will consolidate and trade between $90 and $110 in the medium-term, based on how the oil market settled in the first half of 2022 after an initial spike following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. @LCO.1 mountain 2026-02-27 @LCO.1 since Feb. 27 2026 chart. “We expect trading to stay headline-driven, somewhat volatile and a higher range to form while tail-risk targets remain a risk,” he wrote. Ciana warned that there is still room for oil to go higher due to concerning supply headlines. Based on technical levels, if Brent has another surge it could jump to between $134 and $150, with a small risk of an even higher price. But, if Brent falls below its prior high of $81.40, after which it fell, up until the U.S.-Iran war, that would signal further downside for prices. Ciana also updated his outlook for the S & P Energy sector and Exxon Mobil . Bank of America said both the sector and the stock are consolidating after big moves up, and recommended investors steer away from buying both for the time being. “Momentum is stretched and uptrend-exhaustion signals are appearing,” Ciana wrote. “We prefer to reduce longs and to evaluate whether to add on dips in coming weeks.” .GSPE YTD mountain .GSPE year-to-date chart.