| NYMEX February WTI increased 58 cents to settle at $76.56/b, and ICE February Brent rose 29 cents to settle at $79.23/b, after crossing the $80/b threshold earlier in the trading day. NYMEX January RBOB jumped 2.46 cents to settle at $2.2717/gal, and January ultra-low sulphur diesel climbed 64 points at $2.3778/gal.
EIA Report
Crude: -3,576
Cushing: 1,055
Distillate: -1,726
Gasoline: -1,458
US crude oil inventory declines extended in the week ended Dec. 24 as refinery demand remained high and production ticked back up, EIA data showed Dec. 29. Commercial crude inventories declined 3.6 million barrels to 420 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 24, the EIA said, pushing stocks 7% below the five-year average for this time of the year — the tightest since mid-September. (S&P Global Platts)
A 4.3-million-barrel decline in US Gulf Coast inventories comprised the bulk of the draw, which was offset only slightly by small gains on the US East Coast and Midwest inventories. However, COVID-19 cases hit new records. Because of the rapid spread of the omicron variant, daily US COVID-19 cases on Dec. 18 hit a new record high, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. (S&P Global Platts)
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, will meet on Jan. 4 to decide whether they will continue increasing output in February. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman said on Wednesday the OPEC+ production agreement was “essential” to oil market stability and stressed the need for producers to comply with the pact. (Reuters)
Global oil prices have rebounded by 50% to 60% in 2021 as fuel demand roared back to near pre-pandemic levels while deep production cuts by OPEC+ producers for most of the year erased a supply glut that has been weighing on the market. China, the world’s top crude importer, has issued the first batch of 2022 import quotas to mostly independent refiners, totalling 109.03 million tonnes, 11% below the comparable year-earlier quota, industry sources said. (Reuters)
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