Crude oil prices recorded increases of about 1% in the middle of the European session today, Thursday, February 27, to recover from their lowest levels in two months after sharp declines since the beginning of the week, as Brent crude rose by about 1.02%, trading at $73.27 per barrel, while US crude (Nymex) traded at $69.29 per barrel, up by about 1.01%.

The US Energy Information Administration report issued yesterday, Wednesday, showed a decline in inventories by 2.3 million barrels in the past week ending February 21, contrary to expectations that indicated an increase of 1.7 million barrels. In detail, gasoline inventories rose by about 400 thousand barrels, and distillate inventories, which include heating fuel and diesel, rose by about 3.9 million barrels.

US President Donald Trump has revoked a license granted to Chevron to operate inside Venezuela, saying he decided to cancel all concessions resulting from Washington’s agreement with Venezuela in November 2022, which supported crude prices this morning, as Chevron exports about 240,005 barrels per day from its operations in Venezuela, a quarter of the country’s production.