February WTI crude oil (CLG25) today is up +0.72 (+1.02%), and February RBOB gasoline (RBG25) is up +0.0289 (+1.47%).
Crude oil and gasoline prices today are moderately higher, with crude posting a 5-week high and gasoline posting a 2-week high. Crude has carryover support from last Friday when the weekly EIA report showed that US crude inventories fell by -4.24 million bbl, a larger draw than expectations of -600,000 bbl. Also, today's +18% surge in nat-gas prices to a 1-year high is supporting gains in crude after the National Weather Service forecast colder-than-normal weather across the US East and Midwest in its 8-14 day outlook, an abrupt shift from what's until now been a mostly mild early winter in the US. Today, dollar strength and weakness in stocks limited gains in crude prices.
