The price of WTI drops to almost $56.05 during the early European trading session on Thursday.
Trump's agreement to bring in as much as $2 billion worth of Venezuelan oil is affecting the price of WTI.
According to the EIA, US crude oil stockpiles fell by 3.831 million barrels last week.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), which is the main US crude oil price marker, is currently around $56.05 in early European trading on Thursday. The price of WTI went down after US President Donald Trump made comments about Venezuelan oil. Traders are watching closely for the release of the US jobs report from December, which is expected later on Friday.
Trump said on Tuesday night that Venezuela's temporary government agreed to send up to 50 million barrels of "high-quality, sanctioned oil" to the US. He also mentioned that the US wants full access to Venezuela's oil after the arrest of former President Nicolas Maduro by US troops over the weekend. Experts think that a lot of Venezuelan oil entering the market could lead to a long-term downward trend in prices.
Even though the crude oil inventories report showed a bigger drop than expected, this could help reduce the losses in WTI prices. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly report said that crude oil stockpiles in the US dropped by 3.831 million barrels for the week ending January 2. This is more than the previous week's drop of 1.934 million barrels. The market had expected the stockpiles to increase by 1.1 million barrels.
The US employment data for December will be the main focus on Friday. If the results are worse than expected, it might hurt the US Dollar (USD) and cause prices of commodities priced in USD to go up.
Trump's agreement to bring in as much as $2 billion worth of Venezuelan oil is affecting the price of WTI.
According to the EIA, US crude oil stockpiles fell by 3.831 million barrels last week.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), which is the main US crude oil price marker, is currently around $56.05 in early European trading on Thursday. The price of WTI went down after US President Donald Trump made comments about Venezuelan oil. Traders are watching closely for the release of the US jobs report from December, which is expected later on Friday.
Trump said on Tuesday night that Venezuela's temporary government agreed to send up to 50 million barrels of "high-quality, sanctioned oil" to the US. He also mentioned that the US wants full access to Venezuela's oil after the arrest of former President Nicolas Maduro by US troops over the weekend. Experts think that a lot of Venezuelan oil entering the market could lead to a long-term downward trend in prices.
Even though the crude oil inventories report showed a bigger drop than expected, this could help reduce the losses in WTI prices. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly report said that crude oil stockpiles in the US dropped by 3.831 million barrels for the week ending January 2. This is more than the previous week's drop of 1.934 million barrels. The market had expected the stockpiles to increase by 1.1 million barrels.
The US employment data for December will be the main focus on Friday. If the results are worse than expected, it might hurt the US Dollar (USD) and cause prices of commodities priced in USD to go up.
