Japan’s Nikkei led the way, climbing 1.9% to reclaim the 30,000-point level for the first time in more than three decades.

U.S. Rig Count is up 5 from last week to 397, Canada Rig Count is up 5 from last week to 176.

Brent was down 39 cents, or 0.6% at $60.75 a barrel. WTI was down 44 cents, or 0.8% at $57.80 a barrel.

For 2021, oil demand is now anticipated to increase by 5.8 mb/d, revised down by around 0.1 mb/d from last month’s projection, to average 96.1 mb/d.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 9.9 million barrels to 476.7 million barrels.

OPEC has long maintained that oil will remain a dominant energy source in the decades to come.

Brent fell 35 cents, or 0.6%, to $61.12 a barrel. WTI slid 34 cents, or 0.6%, to $58.34 a barrel.

U.S. increases in net crude oil imports in 2021 and 2022 because domestic crude oil production and inventory draws alone will not meet the needs of U.S. refineries.

European stocks opened higher, with the STOXX 600 and London’s FTSE 100 up 0.3%. That followed a subdued Asian session as markets in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan were closed for holidays.

Brent was down by 1 cent at $61.08. WTI dropped 8 cents to $58.28.

Brent crude oil prices will average $56/b in the first quarter of 2021 and $52/b over the remainder of the year. Brent prices will average $55/b in 2022.

"Iraq is committed to the [OPEC+] agreement to cut production in light of the current challenges facing the international oil market and global oil producers due to the coronavirus that led to the contraction and recession in the global economy," Karim Hattab told INA.

The CSI300 index rose 1.7% to 5,781.43 points at the end of the morning session, the highest since Oct. 18, 2007, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.0% to 3,640.65 points.

Aramco is in talks with banks to provide “staple financing”, which is a financing package provided by the seller that buyers can use to back their purchase.

Brent gained 41 cents, or 0.7%, to $60.97 a barrel. WTI was at $58.25 a barrel, up 28 cents, or 0.5%.