My stop loss zone for short positions in crude oil has been breached today with crude prices surging towards $97 in a move likely being triggered by the unresolved Syrian civil war conflict making it to the news once again. Traders may recall how last summer saw oil prices soar to over $104 as the Syrian crisis (and the possibility of U.S. intervention) heated up. I have mentioned many times on this site how conflicts in the Middle East are a "wild card" factor when trading oil. While this may be just a temporary surge, we are now out of a normal time zone for a reversal in this market, and the next one is coming up in the last days of January. Prices could rally into the end of next week before any significant downturn begins. There are a few technical indicators supporting this short-term bullishness (even though directional momentum remains strongly bearish). For these reasons I consider it prudent to cover all short positions in crude oil now and wait to see how prices move into next week. Prices are settling around $96.60 at the time of this writing so we are only $1- $2 away from our original entry point. Covering short positions in crude oil today and out of this market for now.