WTI rose 0.8% after rising 2.6% earlier. Brent also gained
Oil traded close to $62 a barrel, with investors focusing on a critical OPEC+ meeting that may see supply curbs eased.
Oil stocks boosted by nearly 21.6MMbbls over the last week. However, offsetting this large build were significant drawdowns in refined product stocks. The effects of the cold weather conditions that we witnessed across the U.S. Gulf Coast in February still came through in the data.
Crude oil production is expected to have started to make a recovery, with it growing by 500Mbbls/d over the week, while crude oil imports gained nearly 1.7MMbbls/d. Crude oil inputs dropped by over 2.3MMbbls/d over the week, while the lower throughput impacted the refined product markets. Furthermore, gasoline and distillate fuel oil inventories decreased by 13.62MMbbls and 9.72MMbbls, respectively.
West Texas Intermediate gained 0.8% after increasing 2.6% Wednesday when prices got a lift from a record decline in U.S. fuel inventories. Brent also boosted. Saudi Arabia and Russia, the most powerful OPEC+ members, held talks on March 3 seeking common ground on production as Riyadh urges caution, but Moscow seeks to raise supplies.
The outcome of the OPEC+ meeting is obviously key for market direction
Furthermore, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, announced they bombed an airbase in Saudi Arabia’s southwest with a drone and hit a Saudi Aramco crude facility in Jeddah. Notably, Aramco and the Saudi government’s Center for International Communication didn’t instantly respond to requests for comment.
Another essential thing to note is that Crude has surged this year after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies cut collective output to drive a rebalancing of the pandemic-roiled market.
According to Warren Patterson, head of a commodity strategy at ING Bank NV, the outcome of the OPEC+ meeting is obviously key for market direction. He also added that an increase of 1.5 million barrels a day is expected, including the restoration of voluntary reductions by Saudi Arabia.
