OPEC may continue to increase production in January, and Brent crude oil prices turned lower after hitting the 80 mark

On Thursday (December 30), U.
S.
oil fell 0.
13% to close at $76.
46 / barrel
.
Oil prices ended a six-day winning streak
after weighing a series of global crude supply disruptions and reduced import quotas for major importers.

According to five industry sources with knowledge of the matter, the world's largest crude importer has issued the first batch of crude oil import quotas for 2022 to independent refiners, totaling 109.
03 million tons
.
This is 11 per cent
lower than the quota in the same period last year.

On the supply side, OPEC+ will decide on Jan.
4 whether to continue with a 400,000 b/d increase in
February.
The OPEC+ alliance of OPEC and its allies is likely to stick to its current policy of small monthly output increases at next week's meeting, as demand concerns over Omicron ease,
four sources said.
An OPEC+ source said, "At this time, I have not heard of any move
to change course.
A Russian oil source and two other OPEC+ sources also said no adjustments to the deal
were expected next week.

S&P Energy analyst Nareeka Ahir wrote in a research note that OPEC+'s decision to maintain a 400,000 b/d increase in January rather than halt its production increase may have been due to pressure
from the United States and other oil consumers.
While pressure from the US may cause OPEC+ to raise production, we expect OPEC+ to announce a February increase at 400,000 b/d
.
OPEC+ is expected to increase production by 1.
2 million b/d
between May and July next year, amid calls for increased production.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said: "OPEC+ has rejected Washington's call for further production increases because the alliance wants to provide clear guidance to the market and not deviate from policy
.
" The short-term impact of potential strategic reserve launches on the market is limited
.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's King Salman said the OPEC+ deal was "critical" to oil market stability and stressed the need for producers to comply
.

U.
S.
crude inventories fell by 3.
6 million barrels in the week ended Dec.
24, a drop more than survey analysts expected
, according to the U.
S.
Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.
Gasoline and refined oil inventories also fell, compared with what analysts had expected to increase, suggesting demand remains strong
despite record coronavirus cases in the United States.
John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital Management, said our demand data was very strong in December, so the question now is what OPEC will do
.
OPEC+ is expected to continue to increase production
slightly and gradually.

Crude oil will post its biggest annual gain in more than a decade, the market is now largely free from the effects of the omicron variant, and the introduction of vaccines has accelerated the reopening of the economy, driving crude oil prices higher
.
Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at Raymond James & Associates Inc.
, said the recent streak in oil prices reflects the recognition that the obvious worsening of the pandemic has not prevented economic activity from remaining quite strong
.
Consumer behavior and the overall economy are in good shape, which ultimately is more important
for oil demand.