DUE TO THE WIDESPREAD IMPACT OF SEVERE COLD WEATHER ON ENERGY SUPPLY IN THE MIDWEST REGION OF THE UNITED STATES, INTERNATIONAL CRUDE OIL FUTURES PRICES CONTINUED TO RISE ON THE 16TH.AS OF THE CLOSE ON THE 16TH, THE PRICE OF LIGHT CRUDE OIL FUTURES FOR MARCH DELIVERY ON THE NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE ROSE BY $0.58, CLOSING AT $60.05 PER BARREL, AN INCREASE OF 0.98%; THE LONDON BRENT CRUDE OIL FUTURES PRICE FOR APRIL DELIVERY ROSE BY $0.05 TO CLOSE AT $63.35 PER BARREL, AN INCREASE OF 0.08%.INDUSTRY INSIDERS HAVE STATED THAT WINTER STORMS AND EXTREME COLD WEATHER MAY HAVE A SERIOUS IMPACT ON THE OIL INDUSTRY, AS THE COLD WEATHER MEANS THAT MANY OIL WELLS MAY BE SHUT DOWN. COLD AIR HAS AN IMPACT ON OIL PRODUCTION IN CANADA, AS WELL AS IN NORTH DAKOTA, OKLAHOMA, TEXAS, AND OTHER PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES.ON THE 15TH, WEATHER FACTORS HELPED NEW YORK OIL PRICES RISE ABOVE $60 PER BARREL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ABOUT A YEAR, WHILE LONDON OIL PRICES HAD ALREADY RISEN ABOVE $60 PER BARREL LAST WEEK. IN RECENT MONTHS, INTERNATIONAL CRUDE OIL PRICES HAVE GRADUALLY RISEN AS OPTIMISM ABOUT ECONOMIC RECOVERY REBOUNDS. THE LARGE-SCALE ECONOMIC STIMULUS PLAN PUSHED FORWARD BY US PRESIDENT BIDEN, THE STEADY PROGRESS OF VACCINATION WORK, AND THE SLOWING DOWN OF VIRUS TRANSMISSION HAVE ALL CONTRIBUTED TO THE OPTIMISTIC SENTIMENT OF OIL DEMAND RECOVERY.THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES (OPEC) AND ITS ALLIES WILL CONTINUE TO REDUCE PRODUCTION, PROVIDING SUSTAINED SUPPORT FOR OIL PRICES. OPEC'S MAIN MEMBER SAUDI ARABIA ANNOUNCED LAST MONTH THAT IT WILL VOLUNTARILY FURTHER REDUCE PRODUCTION IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH.AUSTRIAN ENERGY CONSULTING FIRM JBC BELIEVES THAT AS OIL INVENTORIES ARE RETURNING TO THE AVERAGE LEVEL OF NEARLY 5 YEARS, THE PRICE OF WEST TEXAS LIGHT CRUDE OIL FUTURES IN THE UNITED STATES MAY BENEFIT IN THE SHORT TERM, NARROWING THE PRICE DIFFERENCE WITH BRENT CRUDE OIL FUTURES AND POTENTIALLY RISING TO AROUND $65 PER BARREL IN THE SHORT TERM. HOWEVER, JBC ENERGY CONSULTING SAID THAT THE CONTINUED RISE IN OIL PRICES IS STILL UNSUSTAINABLE, AND THE STILL WEAK GLOBAL DEMAND MEANS THAT THE POSSIBILITY OF FURTHER SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN CRUDE OIL FUTURES PRICES BEFORE LATER IN THE SECOND QUARTER IS RELATIVELY SMALL.DATA SHOWS THAT LAST YEAR, THE AVERAGE DAILY DECLINE IN OIL DEMAND WAS 10 MILLION BARRELS. IN 2021, OPEC EXPECTS DAILY CRUDE OIL DEMAND TO INCREASE BY 5.8 MILLION BARRELS, WHILE THE INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY EXPECTS DAILY OIL DEMAND TO INCREASE BY 5.4 MILLION BARRELS.