Brent Crude fell 0.64% to settle at $63.93 per barrel. During the session it rose as high as $65.52, its highest since January 2020. WTI Crude futures slid 1.01% to settle at $60.52 a barrel, after earlier reaching $62.26, the highest since January 2020. Brent had gained for four straight sessions before Thursday, while WTI had risen for three. “The market probably got a little bit ahead of itself,” said Phil Flynn, a senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. “But make no mistake, this selloff in oil doesn’t solve the problems. The problems are going to persist.”

Though some Texas households had power restored on Thursday, the state entered its sixth day of a cold freeze. It has grappled with refining outages and oil and gas shut-ins that rippled beyond its border into Mexico. The weather has shut in about one-fifth of the nation’s refining capacity and closed oil and natural gas production across the state. “The temporary outage will help to accelerate U.S. oil inventories down towards the five-year average quicker than expected,” SEB chief commodities analyst Bjarne Schieldrop said.

Prices fell despite a sharp drop in U.S. oil inventories. Crude stockpiles fell by 7.3 million barrels in the week to Feb. 12, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday, compared with analysts’ expectations for an decrease of 2.4 million barrels. Crude exports rose to 3.9 million barrels per day, the highest since March, EIA said. “The big nugget was the big jump in exports of crude oil,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital in New York. “We’ll have to see what happens with that next week weather in Texas, but I have been looking for a pick up there for a while.”

Oil’s rally in recent months has also been supported by a tightening of global supplies, due largely to production cuts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied producers in the OPEC+ grouping, which includes Russia. OPEC+ sources told Reuters the group’s producers are likely to ease curbs on supply after April given the recovery in prices.

Benchmark Brent Crude gained 99 cents, or 1.56%, to settle at $64.34 a barrel, while U.S. WTI Crude rose $1.09, or 1.82%, to settle at $61.14 per barrel. Oil has been supported by OPEC+ supply curbs, Saudi Arabia’s additional cuts and hopes of a demand rebound due to COVID-19 vaccinations. Historic cold weather in Texas, which supplies the bulk of U.S. crude, has propelled prices higher in recent days. “This has just sent us to the next level,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York. “Crude oil WTI will probably max out somewhere pretty close to $65.65, refinery utilization rate will probably slide to somewhere around 76%,” Yawger said. The U.S. deep freeze should disrupt production for several days if not weeks, industry experts said, as wellheads have frozen and refineries have been shut.

Brent and WTI rose more than $1 during the session, hitting their highest level since January 2020. Prices pared gains after the Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia was expected to announce plans to raise output when OPEC and allied oil producers meet next month. But Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said it was too early to declare victory against the COVID-19 virus and that oil producers must remain “extremely cautious”. “We are in a much better place than we were a year ago, but I must warn, once again, against complacency. The uncertainty is very high, and we have to be extremely cautious,” he told an energy industry event.

The stronger price environment has put more attention on OPEC+, which groups OPEC, Russia and allied producers. It meets to set policy on March 4. OPEC+ sources told Reuters that the group’s producers are likely to ease curbs on supply after April given a recovery in prices.

U.S. oil inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released on Wednesday LATE and Thursday respectively, a one-day delay for each after this week’s U.S. holiday. Analysts polled by Reuters estimated, on average, that crude stocks fell 2.2 million barrels in the week to Feb. 12.

Brent Crude was up 11 cents, or 0.2%, at $63.41 a barrel at 0144 GMT, after rising to its highest since January 2020 in the previous session. U.S.WTI Crude futures gained 62 cents, or about 1%, to $60.09 a barrel. WTI did not settle on Monday because of a U.S. federal holiday.

“The unexpected U.S. supply disruption provides another short term price recovery bridge that has likely taken oil prices to a level where markets were eventually heading but just a little bit quicker than expected,” Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at Axi said in a note on Tuesday. The cold weather in the U.S. halted Texas oil wells and refineries on Monday and forced restrictions on natural gas and crude pipeline operators. The rare deep freeze prompted the state’s electric power suppliers to impose rotating blackouts, leaving nearly 3 million homes and businesses without power. Texas produces roughly 4.6 million barrels of oil per day and is home to 31 refineries, the most of any U.S. state, according to Energy Information Administration data, including some of the country’s largest.

In the Middle East, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group said on Monday it had struck Saudi Arabia’s Abha and Jeddah airports with drones. The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen said early on Monday morning it had intercepted and destroyed an explosive-laden drone fired by the Houthis toward the kingdom.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday listed AstraZenece and Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, widening access to the relatively inexpensive shot in the developing world.

Oil prices slowed their upward trek this week, but not before WTI crude futures prices strode through one of the longest streaks of daily gains in recent memory. WTI futures rose every day upon opening from February 2 until February 10, adding $6.46 a barrel in just seven sessions. Prices eased on Thursday and Friday, yet markets were sanguine about the downturn, already amazed at the gains.

Oil prices this morning are heading back up despite predictions that stock markets will pull back with profit taking today. WTI prices remain above $58 a barrel currently, the highest prices since January 2020. WTI crude futures prices opened Monday at $57.06 a barrel, and prices strengthened midweek on unexpected inventory declines, hitting $58.91 a barrel on Wednesday. WTI prices opened at $57.94 a barrel today and have regained the territory above $58 a barrel. Gasoline prices stagnated this week, though diesel prices showed weekly gains, supported by severe winter storms. These storms also reportedly cut into gasoline demand. Futures prices for both products are rising currently, raising curiosity as to whether the flattening of the price trend was only temporary, and whether oil prices will outperform stock markets today.

The past year has been tumultuous. The weekly average futures prices from January 2020 through the current week of February 2021, WTI prices started January 2020 at $57 a barrel, and the coronavirus already had been detected in China. On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. California was the first state in the U.S. to issue a stay-at-home order, and 41 other states followed in March and April. The price of WTI crude futures fell to a weekly average low of $27.66 a barrel in April. (Note: Charts would show more volatility if daily or hourly highs and lows were used, but weekly averages show the longer-term trend more clearly.) There was some price recovery in the summer, but prices languished as the pandemic worsened again in the autumn. This recent price rally, however, has brought WTI futures prices above their pre-pandemic levels. Gasoline futures prices fell more sharply than diesel futures prices, but they also have surpassed their pre-pandemic levels this week. Diesel prices stagnated throughout spring and summer, but they began to trend up strongly in the autumn. Diesel futures prices remain below their pre-pandemic levels.

Prices have been strengthened by progress on the fight against the virus, the prospect of additional federal stimulus, continued support from the Fed, a drop in inventories, OPEC+ restraint, and recent upward revisions in forecasts of demand from international experts at OPEC and the IEA. Yesterday, President Biden announced that the U.S. has secured the purchase of 200 million additional doses of coronavirus vaccine, and that the White House continues to make progress on another round of stimulus spending and a longer-term economic recovery plan.

Brent Crude fell 26 cents, or 0.42%, to $61.21 a barrel, after touching its highest since January 2020 on Wednesday. WTI Crude settled 44 cents, or 0.75%, lower at $58.24 per barrel. “Crude oil futures rallied following a bigger than expected fall in inventories in the U.S.,” ANZ said in a note. “However, sentiment was curtailed by a rise in gasoline inventories.” Crude stocks last week fell for a third straight week, dropping 6.6 million barrels to 469 million barrels, their lowest since March, according to the Energy Information Administration. Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a 985,000-barrel increase.

Brent has risen for the previous nine sessions, its longest sustained period of gains since January 2019. On Wednesday, was the eighth daily rise for U.S. crude. However, some analysts say prices have moved too far ahead of the underlying fundamentals.

Stocks were flat in early trading in Asia on Thursday as investors kept tapping the brakes on runs in asset prices after taking in tepid U.S. inflation data and comments from the Federal Reserve chief affirming the outlook for a slow recovery.

Crude has jumped since November as governments kicked off vaccination drives for COVID-19 while putting in place large stimulus packages to boost economic activity, and the world’s top producers kept a lid on supply. Top exporter Saudi Arabia is unilaterally reducing supply in February and March, supplementing cuts agreed by other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as OPEC+.

Brent Crude settled 38 cents, or 0.6%, higher at $61.47 per barrel after touching a 13-month high of $61.61 earlier in the session. WTI Crude settled 32 cents, or 0.55%, higher at $58.68 per barrel, having touched $58.76, also a 13-month high.

“A combination of higher refining activity and lower imports resulted in a fourth consecutive draw to oil inventories, and a chunky one at that,” said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData. He cautioned that a build to gasoline inventories offset the bullish draw. Brent has now risen for nine sessions in a row, its longest sustained period of gains since December 2018 to January 2019. It is the eighth daily rise for U.S. crude. Some analysts say prices have moved too far ahead of the underlying fundamentals. “The current price levels are healthier than the actual market and entirely reliant on supply cuts, as demand still needs to recover,” said Bjornar Tonhaugen of Rystad Energy. Crude has jumped since November as governments kicked off vaccination drives for COVID-19 while putting in place large stimulus packages to boost economic activity, and the world’s top producers kept a lid on supply.

Top exporter Saudi Arabia is unilaterally reducing supply in February and March, supplementing cuts agreed by other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as OPEC+.

Some analysts forecast supply will undershoot demand in 2021 as more people get vaccinated and start going away on trips and working in offices.

Top exporter Saudi Arabia is curbing supply in February and March, on top of cuts by producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, prompting forecasts of a supply deficit this year. Also, Libya’s output has fallen to 1.04 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.3 million bpd late last year due to an ongoing strike by Petroleum Facilities Guards, a Libyan oil source said on Monday. Signalling no swift return of Iranian barrels into the market, Tehran and Washington appeared to be deadlocked over a resolution of sanctions on the OPEC member.

Investors are also pinning hopes on demand recovery when COVID-19 vaccines take effect and as governments and central banks deploy huge stimulus packages to shore up economic activity. “Given the amount of liquidity in the system thanks to the U.S. Fed (Federal Reserve), all asset prices are inflated. We see prices reaching $80 per barrel next year and there is an outside chance of a $100,” said Amrita Sen, co-founder of the Energy Aspects thinktank.

Investors are looking ahead to the U.S. weekly oil inventories data due later on Tuesday.

Brent Crude settled 0.85% higher at $59.34 per barrel. WTI Crude settled 1.1% higher at $56.85 per barrel. The contract hit its highest level since Jan. 22, and posted its best week since October. “Brent is eyeing the $60 level now that OPEC+ has successfully eased most supply side concerns and optimism on the COVID front improves globally,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA in New York. “The fundamentals remain solid for crude, but a consolidation seems likely given the recent runup.” Brent is on track to rise more than 6% this week. The last time it traded at $60 a barrel, the pandemic had yet to take hold, economies were open and people were free to travel, meaning demand for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel was much higher.

The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, however, is fuelling hopes of lockdowns being eased, boosting fuel demand. But even demand optimists such as OPEC do not expect oil consumption to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2022. “What is really helping the market today, and is a more valid reason for the price rise we see, once again comes from Saudi Arabia and its top firm, Aramco,” said Rystad Energy’s head of oil markets Bjornar Tonhaugen.

Aramco raised its Arab Light official selling price (OSP) to Northwest Europe by $1.40 a barrel from the previous month. The move could be a signal that Saudi Arabia is more confident in the outlook for oil demand, which is fueling bullish sentiment in the market, Tonhaugen said. Oil also gained support from supply curbs by producers. OPEC and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, stuck to their supply tightening policy at a meeting on Wednesday. Record OPEC+ cuts have helped to lift prices from historic lows last year. “OPEC+ discipline has been a real positive,” said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets.

Further boosting the market, a weekly supply report showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories to their lowest since March, suggesting that output cuts by OPEC+ producers are having the desired effect.