WTI drifts higher to near $58.50 as US government reopens

• WTI price gains traction to near $58.50 in Thursday's Asian session. 
• The record-long US government shutdown ended as Trump signed a funding bill. 
• US crude oil inventories rose 1.3 million barrels last week, the API showed. 
• OPEC shifted its oil outlook to see a small surplus next year. 

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $58.50 during the Asian trading hours on Thursday. The WTI edges higher after US President Donald Trump signed the bill to reopen the US government. Traders brace for the Energy Information Administration (EIA) crude oil stocks change report later on Thursday. 

Reuters reported on Thursday that US President Donald Trump has signed the government funding bill, marking the official end of the longest government shutdown in US history. The reopening will lead to an avalanche of US economic data releases that were delayed due to the shutdown. 

Traders believe that resumption of economic data will point to a slowing economy, and that would prompt the Federal Reserve (Fed) to reduce interest rates in December. Lower interest rates generally weaken the US Dollar (USD) as it makes oil cheaper for foreign buyers, boosting global demand and lifting WTI prices.

On the other hand, the report showed a rise in weekly US crude oil inventories, reinforcing concerns that global supply is more than ample to meet current fuel demand. Data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Wednesday showed that crude oil stockpiles in the US for the week ending November 7 increased by 1.3 million barrels compared to a rise of 6.5 million barrels in the previous week. This figure beat expectations for a 1.7 million barrel build. Crude oil inventories in the United States are so far showing a net gain of 4.9 million barrels for the year, according to Oilprice calculations of API data.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released its monthly report, indicating that global oil supply will slightly exceed demand in 2026, marking a further shift from the group's earlier projections of a supply deficit. 

"OPEC's signal of a supply surplus unleashed previously pent-up bearish sentiment in the previous session, while a U.S. crude inventory build added pressure, pushing oil prices to continue to slide on Thursday morning," said Yang An, analyst at Haitong Securities.