As far as the longer-term outlook is concerned, oil looks neutral in a range of $66.29-$70.75, within which the consolidation has lasted for two weeks.
In the Middle East, Israel and Gaza's ruling Hamas militant group faced mounting international calls for a ceasefire in hostilities that entered their second week on Monday with no end in sight.
On the daily chart, the gain on Monday proved to be a short-lived bluff by bulls. Market sentiment looks mixed, while oil is consolidating around $68.43.
In either case, oil is expected to retrace further over the next few days. Only a rise above $69.87 could confirm the continuation of the uptrend towards $71.38.