On Tuesday, February WTI crude oil closed down 0.22% at $60.17 while February RBOB gasoline increased by 0.31% to $1.76. This mixed performance comes after the dollar index rose to a one-week high and a bearish weekly EIA inventory report indicated an unexpected increase in crude oil inventories by 405,000 barrels, contrary to expectations of a 2 million-barrel draw.
Support for crude prices stemmed from geopolitical tensions involving Venezuela, Nigeria, and Russia, along with signs that OPEC+ intends to maintain its production freeze during their upcoming video conference on Sunday. Notably, China’s crude imports are projected to rise by 10% month-over-month to a record 12.2 million barrels per day as inventory rebuilding continues.
In the U.S., active oil rigs rose by three to 412 rigs, recovering from a low of 406, although this number has dropped significantly from the December 2022 high of 627 rigs. U.S. crude oil production slightly declined to 13.825 million barrels per day, still near record levels.
