WTI drifts lower to near $71.50 on the bullish US Dollar

• WTI edges lower to $71.45 in Thursday's Asian session. 
• The stronger US Dollar weighs on the WTI price. 
• US crude inventories rose more than expected, according to the EIA.  

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $71.45 on Thursday. The WTI price edges lower amid the rise in the US Dollar (USD) after Republican candidate Donald Trump won the US presidential election.

Trump's victory has boosted the Greenback and dragged the USD-denominated WTI price lower. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY), an index of the value of the USD relative to a basket of foreign currencies, climbed to the highest level since July near 105.44 before retreating to 105.20. 

Nonetheless, Trump's reelection could also mean the renewal of sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, which means the global market could become tighter and would be bullish for the WTI price. "Conceptually, the impact of a potential second Trump term on oil prices is ambiguous, with some short-term downside risk to Iran oil supply ... and thus upside price risk," noted Goldman Sachs commodities analysts. 

The Energy Information Administration's (EIA) weekly report showed US crude stocks rose more than expected last week. Crude oil stockpiles in the United States for the week ending November 1 increased by 2.149 million barrels, compared to a decline of 0.515 million barrels in the previous week. The market consensus estimated that stocks would increase by 1.8 million barrels.