The WTI price was trading at around $72.70 per barrel in the Asian session on Friday. It has maintained a bullish trend.

Highlights:

• The price of WTI suffered losses. US gasoline and distillate inventories rose.
• The change in US crude oil inventories from the EIA fell to 5.503 million barrels versus the estimate of a decline of 3.725 million barrels.
• In order to replenish the SPR, the US government bought back 13.82 million barrels of domestically produced oil.

The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil was hovering around $72.70 a barrel during Asian trading on Friday. However, it fell back after a rise in US distillate and gasoline inventories. This suggests that the demand for oil may be unstable.

The increase in product inventories has raised concerns about the deteriorating demand in the US. According to the EIA, the country’s crude oil stocks decreased by 5.503 million barrels during the week ended December 29. This is more than the expected decrease of 3.725 million barrels.

The API’s weekly data on crude oil stocks released on Wednesday supported oil prices.

According to the data released by the US Department of Energy, crude oil stocks in the country decreased by 7.418 million barrels. This was higher than the market consensus of a decrease of 2.967 million barrels.

In response to the unprecedented amount of petroleum reserves withdrawn from the SPR in 2022, US President Biden’s administration is gradually replenishing the reserve.

The government has bought back almost 14 million barrels of domestic crude oil. The rise in oil prices was caused by the conflict in Gaza and the disruption of a Libyan oilfield.

The growing concerns about the supply of petroleum due to the actions of the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen increased after they launched two missiles at a shipping container vessel in the Red Sea.

On Wednesday, violent protests in Libya led to the shutdown of the country’s biggest oil field, which can produce around 300,000 barrels per day.