WTI Crude Oil futures retreat from the $103 level, settling near $101.50 as signs of improving Middle Eastern diplomacy weigh on prices. Despite the daily decline, the market remains up roughly 16% for the month of October, finding solid support above $100 a barrel. The pullback in price also dragged the CVOL index lower, tracking a direct relationship between crude prices and volatility. Meanwhile, speculators continue a mid-September trend of unwinding net long positions.