- Tuesday’s data showed China’s oil imports rose 9.5% in 2019.
- Iraq’s compliance with output cuts reportedly improved in December.
- Coming up: API’s weekly crude oil inventory report.
The de-escalation of the US-Iran conflict last week and heightened hopes of a ceasefire in Libya weighed on crude oil prices and forced the barrel of West Texas Intermediate to close the last seven trading days in the negative territory and erasing nearly 8% during that time period.
After touching its lowest level in more than a month at $57.70, however, the WTI staged a modest rebound on Tuesday and was last seen trading at $58.35, adding 0.5% on the day.
Supply-side dynamics help crude oil rebound
The upbeat market mood ahead of the signing of the US-China trade deal on Wednesday helped crude oil prices gain traction on Tuesday. Additionally, the latest trade data published by China’s General Administration of Customs showed that oil imports in 2019 increased by nearly 10%.
Meanwhile, Russian news agency TASS reported that the OPEC+ could extend its output cuts until June if March meeting is postponed to support crude oil’s recovery. Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman noted that Iraq’s compliance with the output cut agreement improved in December and added that the country was expected to have full compliance in January.
Later in the day, the American Petroleum Institue will release its weekly crude oil stock report.
Technical levels to watch for
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