WTI Closes Higher as China Moves to Restrict Banned Tankers and Cold U.S. Weather Boosts Heating Oil
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed higher on Tuesday on concerns over tightening supply after China moved to comply with U.S. sanctions, while cold U.S. weather pushes up heating oil
WTI crude for February delivery closed up US$0.69 to settle at US$74.25 per barrel, while March Brent oil was last seen up US$0.70 to US$77.00.
The rise came after Reuters reported China's Shandong Port Group, which has been accepting banned tankers at three ports in the country it controls, issued a notice it will no longer accept sanctioned vessels, tightening supply as it rejects some imports from Iran and Russia.
Cold temperatures in the United States are also offering support to the commodity, with most states expected to see colder than average temperatures over the next two weeks, according to the National Weather Service. Heating oil for February delivery was last seen up 0.47 US cents to 235.99 US cents per gallon, the highest since Oct.7.
The "move north was predominantly led by the CME Heating Oil and the ICE Gasoil contracts because colder weather and falling temperatures encourage demand to grow for distillates. In coming weeks drawdowns in distillate inventories cannot be ruled out in the northern hemisphere", PVM Oil Associates noted.
Source : MT Newswires
