WTI extends its decline below $76.50 as Trump vows to boost oil output

• WTI price trades in negative territory near $76.15 in Tuesday's early Asian session. 
• US President Donald Trump promised to boost US crude production, weighing on the WTI price. 
• The upbeat Chinese economic data could cap the downside for the black gold. 

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $76.15 on Tuesday. The WTI price attracts some sellers as traders await a flurry of executive orders from US President Donald Trump following his inauguration.

Trump announced on Monday that he would immediately declare a national energy emergency, promising to fill up strategic reserves and use the authority to rapidly approve new oil, gas, and electricity projects that would normally take years to get permits.

Trump's administration will push for more oil and gas production as well as consumption in the United States, which might drag the WTI price lower. "The inflation crisis (in the US) was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices, and that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill. America will be a manufacturing nation once again," Trump said.

The upside for the WTI price might be capped amid the easing tension in the Middle East. On Sunday, Hamas and Israel swapped hostages and inmates, marking the start of a truce after 15 months of conflict.

On the other hand, the encouraging Chinese economic data could support black gold, as China is the world's biggest crude importer. China's economy grew 5.4% YoY in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024, compared to a 4.6% expansion in Q3. This reading came in stronger than the 5% expected by a wide margin.