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On Thursday, December WTI crude oil closed up by 0.09 (+0.15%) and December RBOB gasoline rose by 0.0019 (+0.10%). These gains occurred amid easing US-China trade tensions as Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping agreed to extend a tariff truce and reduce trade barriers.
Support for oil prices also stemmed from reduced Russian crude exports and Ukraine’s targeted attacks on Russian refineries, which saw Russia’s total seaborne fuel shipments drop to 1.88 million barrels per day (bpd) in early October, the lowest in over 3.25 years. Additionally, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that US crude oil inventories were 5.8% below the seasonal 5-year average as of October 24.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) will discuss a proposed oil production increase of 137,000 bpd for December during their upcoming meeting this weekend, as the group aims to boost output by a total of 1.66 million bpd.
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