WTI recovers recent losses as Houthis criticized UN resolution, trades near $71.70

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price retraces its recent losses, trading higher near $71.70 per barrel during the Asian session on Thursday. Crude oil prices are gaining upward momentum due to concerns about potential supply disruptions following recent developments where Yemen's Houthis criticized the United Nations (UN) resolution on Red Sea navigation.

The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution calling on Yemen's Houthis to halt attacks on ships in the Red Sea and release the Japanese-operated vessel, Galaxy Leader, seized in November. Eleven council members voted for the measure on Wednesday, urging the Iran-aligned Houthis to "immediately cease all attacks, which impede global commerce and navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace." The resolution implicitly supported a United States (US)-led task force that has been defending vessels, while also urging caution to prevent an escalation of tensions.

In response, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the head of Yemen's Houthi supreme revolutionary committee, expressed a different perspective in a post on the media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) on Thursday. He dismissed the UN resolution on Red Sea navigation as a "political game" and accused the United States of violating international law.

On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released the updated data on US Crude Oil Stocks Change for the week ending on January 5. The report revealed a notable increase in Crude oil stock, exerting downward pressure on the WTI price. The Crude oil stocks climbed by 1.338 million barrels, contrary to the expected decline of 0.675 million barrels, offsetting the previous week's decrease of 5.503 million barrels.

However, Crude oil prices saw an uptick following the release of US crude stock data on Tuesday, indicating a reduction. The American Petroleum Institute (API) published its Weekly Crude Oil Stock report, revealing a decline of 5.215 million barrels, surpassing the anticipated drop of 1.2 million barrels. This contrasts with the previous reading, which showed a substantial decline of 7.418 million barrels.