On Wednesday, February WTI crude oil closed down by $0.53, or 0.91%, settling at $CLG26, while February RBOB gasoline decreased by $0.0180, or 1.04%. The decline followed a bearish weekly EIA inventory report, noting an unexpected decrease in crude inventories by 1.93 million barrels, contrary to expectations of a build. This data comes amid geopolitical tensions that are limiting significant price drops and expectations that OPEC+ will pause further production increases in their meeting scheduled for Sunday.
According to Kpler data, China’s crude imports are projected to rise 10% month-over-month to a record 12.2 million barrels per day as it rebuilds its inventories. The EIA weekly report highlighted that US gasoline inventories surged by 5.8 million barrels, an 8.5-month high, exceeding expectations of a 1.95 million barrels increase. Additionally, US crude oil production remained steady at 13.827 million barrels per day, just below the record of 13.862 million barrels set in early November.
Baker Hughes reported an increase in active US oil rigs, rising by 3 rigs to 412, recovering from a recent low of 406. This marks a significant drop from the peak of 627 rigs recorded in December 2022.
