It should be noted that WTI oil is trading well below highs that were reached in June 2025 during Israel – Iran conflict. Thus, there is plenty of room to gain momentum in case a new conflict begins. If Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz, oil could rally towards triple-digit levels.
Today, traders also focused on the EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report. The report indicated that crude inventories decreased by -9 million barrels from the previous week, compared to analyst consensus of +2.1 million barrels.
Gasoline inventories declined by -3.2 million barrels, while analysts expected that they would decrease by -0.3 million barrels. Distillate fuel inventories decreased by -4.6 million barrels from the previous week.
Crude oil imports declined by 281,000 bpd, averaging 6.5 million bpd. Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged 6.3 million bpd.
Strategic Petroleum Reserve increased from 415.2 million barrels to 415.4 million barrels as U.S. bought some oil for strategic reserves.
Domestic oil production increased from 13.713 million bpd to 13.735 million bpd. Some analysts argue that strong domestic production levels increase the risks of a military operation in Iran as the U.S. can easily deal with a short-term supply crunch in the global market.
Currently, WTI oil is trying to settle above the resistance at $65.50 – $66.00. In case this attempt is successful, WTI oil will move towards the next resistance level, which is located in the $70.00 – $70.50 range.
