Nymex crude oil futures gained after reports of declining

NYMEX crude oil futures gained after reports of declining shale production in the Permian Basin. Supply-side constraints in North America are reinforcing market expectations of tighter crude availability in Q Over the same period, heating oil futures, the proxy for distillate products, rose 41.7% from $1.8851 to $2.6706 per gallon wholesale, outperforming gasoline due to distillate supply concerns, signaling that Brent could become far more sensitive to escalating hostilities in the Middle East and the potential for problems in the Straits of Hormuz. The chart below shows the profitability of WTI versus Platts Murban crude oil from the perspective of an Asian refiner. Since 2021, it would be more cost-efficient for a typical refiner to import WTI than Murban for much of the time. Technical analysts observe that NYMEX crude oil futures are holding above their 50-day moving average, a sign that bullish momentum remains intact. Volume spikes at $80 suggest heavy institutional activity in energy-linked commodity ETFs.