Overview
- Crude consolidated after a four‑day rally, with WTI trading around $61–$62 and Brent above $65, marking the strongest levels since late October.
- President Donald Trump urged Iranians to keep protesting and said “help is on the way,” as U.S. officials planned a White House meeting on Iran that traders see as adding to geopolitical risk.
- The EIA reported U.S. crude inventories up 3.4 million barrels last week with gasoline up 9 million, following API estimates of a 5.27‑million‑barrel crude build and large product builds.
- Venezuela resumed shipments, with two supertankers carrying about 1.8 million barrels each departing in what sources described as the first loads of a potential 50‑million‑barrel arrangement.
- Supply dynamics also include disrupted loadings near the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal, an EIA upgrade of 2026 U.S. output to 13.59 million bpd, and OPEC+ holding a Q1 pause on planned increases.