• The price of WTI saw a slight gain near $76.75 during Wednesday’s early Asian session.
• The US EIA expected oil demand to stabilize in 2025 and 2026.
• According to API, US crude oil inventories fell by 2.6 million barrels last week.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading at $76.75 on Wednesday. The price of WTI is soaring as recent US sanctions on Russian oil exports threaten to tighten global supplies. The augment in black gold prices may be restricted after a US government agency forecast steady demand for US oil in 2025.

The Biden administration announced recent sanctions on Russia’s oil sector last week, blacklisting nearly 200 so-called shadow fleet and targeting Russian oil producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz. Growing concerns about supply disruptions may support WTI in the near term.

On the other hand, according to Tuesday’s report from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the WTI price may come under selling pressure as global oil production exceeds demand. EIA noted that U.S. oil demand will remain steady at 20.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2025 and 2026, and domestic oil production will augment to 13.55 million barrels per day, an augment from the agency’s previous forecast of 13.52 million barrels per day for this year.

US crude oil inventories fell less than expected last week, signaling weaker demand for the WTI price. API’s weekly report showed that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 2.6 million barrels for the week ending January 10, compared with a decline of 4.022 million barrels in the previous week. The market consensus estimated that inventories would decline by 3.5 million barrels.

On Wednesday, oil traders will monitor U.S. inflation data for December for fresh momentum. In the event of a softer-than-expected outcome, this could depress the dollar and raise the price of USD-denominated goods.