(RTTNews) – Oil prices held near a four-month high on Wednesday following a dramatic 3 percent surge on Tuesday, the sharpest daily increase in months, after a winter storm disrupted U.S. crude output and exports.
Benchmark Brent crude futures dipped 0.3 percent to $66.39 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were down 0.2 percent at $62.24.
Supply worries lingered after winter storm Fern wreaked havoc across the United States, disrupting crude output and exports.
U.S. producers lost up to 2 million barrels per day, or roughly 15 per cent, of national output over the weekend, analysts and traders estimated.
Meanwhile, tensions between the U.S. and Iran remained heightened. After deploying USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in West Asia, U.S. President Donald Trump said there’s another beautiful armada floating beautifully toward Iran.
The U.S. announced a multi-day military exercise in the Middle East to bolster its military presence in the region.
Iranian officials issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for live-fire military activity in the airspace along the Strait of Hormuz.
Amid the looming specter of a global oil glut, traders now await U.S. inventory figures and the upcoming OPEC+ meeting for direction.
The oil cartel is expected to hold oil production flat in March and reiterate the first quarter pause in supply hikes when the group meets on February 1.
In a recent announcement, Kazakhstan’s energy minister indicated that the country’s declining oil production is likely to keep it within the OPEC+ quotas.
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