WTI Fails to Extend Overnight OPEC Gains Despite Big Crude Draw WTI Fails to Extend Overnight OPEC Gains Despite Big Crude Draw Oil prices are up overnight, with WTI topping $74 (and Brent topping $75 - a fresh two year high), after a bigger than expected crude draw reported by API . Prices were also buoyed by reports that OPEC is considering raising production by 500k barrels a day (which is less than the widely expected 1mm b|d). In another supportive voice for oil prices, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said on Wednesday at the meeting of the organizations economic think-tank, the Economic Commission Board (ECB), that the latest market developments point to much better conditions and improved outlooks of the oil market and global economy. U.S. Oil inventories were expected to drop by 6.3 million barrels for the week ended June 18, aided by the lifting of domestic restrictions amid vaccinations, and by exports. However, the emergence of a new variants in regions where vaccinations are slower may pressure the global economic recovery, and with it demand, according to Vince Piazza, senior energy analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.