Oil prices moved higher for a third day on Friday with traders seeing solid summer demand amid falling U.S. inventories even as supply is on the rise.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil for August delivery was last seen up US$0.55 to US$65.79 per barrel, while August Brent crude was up US$0.52 to US$68.25.
The rise comes as the market calms after the end of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran collapsed a risk premium for the commodity, sending prices down 14% from a five-month high and returning oil to the narrow range it has stuck to for most of the past two months.
However Wednesday's inventory report from the Energy Information Administration that showed U.S. oil stocks fell by a much more than expected drop of 5.9-million barrels offered the market some confidence that summer demand remains solid.
"The weekly oil statistics on US oil stocks were unconditionally bullish as the major categories all registered significant drawdowns: crude oil 5.9 million bbls, gasoline 2.1 million bbls, distillates 4.1 million bbls taking commercial inventories 4.2 million bbls lower than the previous week. Implied demand holds resolutely above 20 mbpd as refiners supplied 9.7 mbpd of gasoline last week, the highest since December 2021," PVM Oil Associates noted.
The drop in U.S. stocks comes despite rising supply into the market that is expected to reverse declining inventories. OPEC+ will meet on July 6 and is likely to approve a fifth monthly supply increase of 411,000 barrels per day as the group continues to move away from supporting prices and looks to grab market share amid rising production from North and South American producers.
Source: MT Newswires
Oil prices continued their rally amid growing concerns that Ukrainian drone attacks could disrupt oil flows through Russia's two most important crude export hubs on the Baltic coast. Brent crude rose...
Oil prices held steady on Friday (September 12th) as concerns about oversupply and weakening U.S. demand offset the risk of supply disruptions stemming from conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. ...
Oil held a decline after the International Energy Agency projected an even bigger surplus next year, with the bearish outlook offsetting concerns about geopolitical tensions from the Middle East ...
Oil prices slid about 2% on Thursday on concerns over softening U.S. demand and broad oversupply that offset threats to output from the conflict in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. Brent crude...
Oil prices fell on Thursday (September 11), pressured by concerns over weakening US demand and a widespread oversupply, offsetting the threat to production from conflicts in the Middle East and Russia...
Poland rejected on Friday a suggestion by Donald Trump that Russian drone incursions into its airspace could have been a mistake, a rare contradiction of the U.S. president from one of Washington's closest European allies. Poland, backed by...
The University of Michigan (UoM) is expected to release the preliminary reading of its monthly Consumer Confidence Index for September on Friday. This survey captures US consumers' views on their personal finances, business conditions, and...
Oil prices continued their rally amid growing concerns that Ukrainian drone attacks could disrupt oil flows through Russia's two most important crude export hubs on the Baltic coast. Brent crude rose above $67 per barrel, after falling 1.7% on...
The Federal Reserve is likely to start a series of interest-rate cuts next week and keep going through the end of the year, traders bet on Wednesday...
The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said the Federal Reserve has scope to lower interest rates because of the weakening U.S. labor market,...
Producer inflation in the United States, as measured by the change in the Producer Price Index (PPI), fell to 2.6% annually in August from 3.3% in...
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday that the preliminary estimate of the Current Employment Statistics (CES) national benchmark...