Global oil stocks dropped by around 60 million barrels in January, with on-land inventories at their lowest level since at least 2016, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported in Paris on Thursday. This had happened despite apparent weaknesses in demand, the IEA said in its monthly report. It pointed to an extreme Arctic freeze affecting key oil-producing regions in the United States and Canada that shut down supply, along with output curbs by some OPEC+ countries. In December total stocks rose, as a surge in oil on water more than offset draws on inventories on land. “Escalating geopoli…