According to the latest reports crude stocks 900K bbl during last week, defying expectations of a decrease of 1.7M bbls,

Despite the fact that oil steadied today, analysts are worried that prices can be vulnerable due to the rising US inventories.

The Brent oil price is up for 8 weeks in a row, as there are indications of a possible extension to the supply cuts.

Oil prices rally after bullish U.S. supply data which showed US crude oil inventories fell by 1.8 M bbls last week.

Oil is ticking up again after the pipeline halt in Libya and the concerns that US surplus is diminishing.

Oil prices slipped to 3-months lows today, as data showed US inventories rising faster than the expectations, putting pressure on OPEC to extend output cuts.

The price of oil fell to the 4-month low after the report from OPEC which revealed that the North American oil exports changed cartel’s plan to drain the global market glut.

The American Petroleum Institute reported a build-up of 11.6Mbbl in US crude inventories, which was 10 times more than the analysts had predicted.

Oil majors reported poor earnings for the 4Q 2016, although many oil executives feel optimistic about the forthcoming period.

On Tuesday oil prices rose to over $1/ bbl after OPEC claimed it will stay firm to its oil cut production agreement and there are hopes for increased compliance from the members – participating countries.

Most analysts await oil prices to gradually start increasing now that OPEC managed to implement 90% of the cuts.

Changing government policies put even more pressure in the refining capacity in Asia while the refining margins in Europe are getting weaker.

Seasonality has been in favour of crude oil tanker owners during the last quarter of 2016, while the products market touched the bottom in October due to regular annual maintenance.

Libya’s oil production is at the highest levels since 2014 and is on track to keep rising this year as the country tries to restore the barrels lost due to the political chaos.

Shale oil production in the US could change the plans of the major producers to balance global supply and demand for crude.