Ice Brent futures traded higher in early Asian trading, as US-Iran relations continued to dominate market attention.
The Ice front-month April Brent contract was at $71.89/bl at 04:00 GMT, up by 23¢/bl from its settlement on 19 February, when the contract ended $1.31/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month March crude contract was at $66.78/bl, up by 35¢/bl from its settlement on 19 February, when the contract ended $1.24/bl higher.
Tensions between the US and Iran remained heightened. US president Donald Trump's administration is moving more naval and air force resources to the region near Iran, despite assurances that diplomacy with Tehran remains his preferred outcome.
The move comes just after Iran issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) that it would conduct rocket launches across southern Iran on 19 February.
The Trump administration has argued that positioning additional US military assets near Iran is necessary to pressure Tehran to make unspecified concessions in future diplomatic engagements with the US.
Meanwhile, the head of the US Southern Command General Francis Donovan visited Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez on 18 February, marking a new level of interaction between the governments as the US continues to manage Venezuela's oil revenue and seize sanctioned tankers.
The meeting follows the US seizure of the Veronica III tanker in the Indian Ocean over the weekend. The tanker left Venezuela in mid-October, likely carrying sanctioned crude, Kpler shipping data indicate.
US crude inventories fell by 9mn bl to 419.8mn bl in the week ended 13 February, on lower net imports and rising refinery demand, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on 19 February. Inventories were lower by 12.7mn bl compared with a year earlier.
US independent Occidental Petroleum remains "a little bit cautious" about the industry outlook for 2026, on concerns that oil's recent rally is not supported by fundamentals. But the outlook could improve towards the end of this year and into 2027 given declining worldwide reserve replacement ratios, chief executive officer Vicki Hollub said.
"We believe by 2027 we're going to get much closer to being in balance with respect to supply and demand," she told analysts after Occidental reported fourth-quarter results. "The macro has got to become better for oil sooner rather than later."
Elsewhere, China has replaced India as the main buyer of seaborne Russian crude. Much of the 50mn bl of Russian crude that had accumulated at sea since December has now moved to China, market participants said.
Ice Brent futures traded higher in early Asian trading, as US-Iran relations continued to dominate market attention.
The Ice front-month April Brent contract was at $71.89/bl at 04:00 GMT, up by 23¢/bl from its settlement on 19 February, when the contract ended $1.31/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month March crude contract was at $66.78/bl, up by 35¢/bl from its settlement on 19 February, when the contract ended $1.24/bl higher.
Tensions between the US and Iran remained heightened. US president Donald Trump's administration is moving more naval and air force resources to the region near Iran, despite assurances that diplomacy with Tehran remains his preferred outcome.
The move comes just after Iran issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) that it would conduct rocket launches across southern Iran on 19 February.
The Trump administration has argued that positioning additional US military assets near Iran is necessary to pressure Tehran to make unspecified concessions in future diplomatic engagements with the US.
Meanwhile, the head of the US Southern Command General Francis Donovan visited Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez on 18 February, marking a new level of interaction between the governments as the US continues to manage Venezuela's oil revenue and seize sanctioned tankers.
The meeting follows the US seizure of the Veronica III tanker in the Indian Ocean over the weekend. The tanker left Venezuela in mid-October, likely carrying sanctioned crude, Kpler shipping data indicate.
US crude inventories fell by 9mn bl to 419.8mn bl in the week ended 13 February, on lower net imports and rising refinery demand, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on 19 February. Inventories were lower by 12.7mn bl compared with a year earlier.
US independent Occidental Petroleum remains "a little bit cautious" about the industry outlook for 2026, on concerns that oil's recent rally is not supported by fundamentals. But the outlook could improve towards the end of this year and into 2027 given declining worldwide reserve replacement ratios, chief executive officer Vicki Hollub said.
"We believe by 2027 we're going to get much closer to being in balance with respect to supply and demand," she told analysts after Occidental reported fourth-quarter results. "The macro has got to become better for oil sooner rather than later."
Elsewhere, China has replaced India as the main buyer of seaborne Russian crude. Much of the 50mn bl of Russian crude that had accumulated at sea since December has now moved to China, market participants said.
By YouLiang Chay