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- WTI price posts modest gains near $60.85 in Wednesday’s Asian session.
- Hopes for the end of the US government shutdown and concerns about Russian supply boost the WTI price.
- API weekly crude oil stock report and the OPEC monthly oil market report for November will be the highlights on Wednesday.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $60.85 during the Asian trading hours on Wednesday. The WTI trades with mild gains amid renewed investor confidence after a US government deal. Traders await the American Petroleum Institute (API) weekly crude oil stock report and the OPEC monthly oil market report for November, which will be published on Wednesday.
The US Republican-controlled House of Representatives is set to vote on Wednesday on a bill already signed off by the Senate. If it passes in both chambers of Congress, it will head to US President Donald Trump to be signed into law. The bill will restore funding to government agencies through January 30.
Trump on Monday voiced support for a bipartisan agreement to end the US shutdown, a significant step that makes it likely the government will reopen within days. An end to the US government shutdown could lead to a rebound in travel and jet fuel consumption, underpinning the WTI price.
WTI price also receives support from US sanctions against Russia’s two biggest oil producers, Lukoil and Rosneft. Additionally, Russian owners have agreed to sell their shares in Serbia’s Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) after the major oil and gas company was slapped with Western sanctions.
“Crude is benefiting from several tailwinds today, with concerns around Russian supply not making its way to market as some Indian refiners have reduced purchases and analysts are increasing estimates of the potential impact,” said Rebecca Babin, a senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Group.
On the other hand, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) announced earlier this month that the group will raise production by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December but will then pause the production hikes in the first quarter (Q1) next year, fueling fears of a global glut.
