- WTI price drifts lower to near $56.05 in Thursday’s early European session.
- Trump’s deal to import up to $2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude weighs on the WTI price.
- US crude stocks dropped by 3.831 million barrels last week, according to the EIA.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $56.05 during the early European trading hours on Thursday. The WTI price declines on US President Donald Trump statements on Venezuelan oil. Traders will keep an eye on the release of the US jobs data for December, which will be released later on Friday.
Trump said late Tuesday that Venezuela’s interim government agreed to give as many as 50 million barrels of “high-quality, sanctioned oil” to the US. Trump added that the US wants full access to Venezuela’s oil following the arrest of former President Nicolas Maduro by US forces over the weekend. Analysts believe that significant amounts of Venezuelan oil potentially entering the market offer long-term bearish momentum.
Nonetheless, the crude oil inventories report showed a sharper decline than anticipated, which might help limit the WTI’s losses. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly report, crude oil stockpiles in the US for the week ending January 2 fell by 3.831 million barrels, compared to a decline of 1.934 million barrels in the previous week. The market consensus estimated that stocks would rise by 1.1 million barrels.
The US employment report for December will take center stage on Friday. In case of a weaker-than-estimated outcome, this could undermine the US Dollar (USD) and lift the USD-denominated commodity price.
