Higher Gasoline Prices

Crude oil prices are on a path to highs not seen since 2014, according to one chart analyst.

As the energy sector tracks for its best quarter on record with a year-to-date gain of nearly 40%, there’s “clearly some upside” for oil prices as well, Piper Sandler’s Craig Johnson told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Friday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude prices slid half of 1% to around $65.60 a barrel on Friday.

“I could actually see a number that could be north of 100 in the next, say, six to ... 12 months from here,” said Johnson, his firm’s senior technical research analyst.

The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) is also showing signs of life after a difficult 2020, he said.

“There is clearly a double bottom that has been made and even a higher low that has been made,” he said, citing a chart of the 23-stock exchange-traded fund.

“We’re getting a multi-year reversal in terms of the performance of the XLE compared to the S&P 500. Clearly, there are some very positive trends happening here,” he said. “These are longer-term themes and trends that are starting to unfold.”

One smaller name could see outsized benefits from those trends, Johnson said.

“Don’t forget about the mid- and small-cap stocks, too, because they’re also participating in the action,” he said, pointing to a chart of exploration and production company Cimarex Energy.   READ MORE