The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, which rose to $77.04 yesterday, ended the day at $76.81.
The price of a barrel of Brent oil rose by about 0.4 percent compared to today’s close at 09:44 to reach $77.12.
At the same time, West Texas Intermediate crude oil was sold at $74.12 per barrel.
As oil prices continue their upward trend after data indicating that demand is increasing in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) expected that US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 4 million and 22 thousand barrels last week compared to the previous week, and market expectations indicated a decrease of 250 thousand barrels.
The decline in inventories exceeding expectations indicates that demand in the country is strengthening and supports the upward movement of oil prices, and the US Energy Information Administration will release official inventory data later today.
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In contrast, statements about the steps that US President-elect Donald Trump will take continue to influence prices.
In his statement yesterday, Trump implied that he could use troops if necessary to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, and his comments that Canada should be the 51st state of the United States increased the perception of risk in the markets.
Concerns that the potential tariffs that will be implemented in these statements may have a negative impact on the fight against inflation in the United States, supporting the possibility that the US Federal Reserve will suspend the easing process until the second half of the year, which will limit the upward movement in prices.
Expectations that the bank will slow the rate of interest rate cuts this year are pushing prices lower, indicating that economic activity will slow in the world’s largest oil-consuming country.
Technically, the level of $77.40 can be seen as resistance and the level of $70.70 can be seen as support in Brent crude.
