Azeri Light crude nears $62

Azeri LT CIF crude oil, exported from Azerbaijan to the world markets, increased by $0.58 (+0.95%), settling at $61.69 per barrel.

Oil prices were trading up on Tuesday ahead of the data release, buoyed both by OPEC-driven optimism and the looming stimulus rollout that some are hoping will drive up oil demand.

At 3:15 p.m. EDT, before Tuesday's data release, WTI had risen by $0.41 on the day (+0.71%) to $58.38—a near $4 increase from this time last week.

The Brent crude benchmark had risen on the day $0.57 at that time (+0.94%) to $61.13—also up nearly $4 on the week.

US oil production stayed at 10.9 million bpd, according to the Energy Information Administration—still millions of barrels under March 2020 levels.

The API reported a build in gasoline inventories of 4.810 million barrels for the week ending February 5—after the previous week's 240,000-barrel draw. Analysts had expected a 1.814-million-barrel build for the week.