Oil Prices Steady as U.S Crude Inventories Climb

Oil Prices Steady as U.S Crude Inventories Climb

Oil prices steadied in the global commodity market on Thursday as US crude inventories climbed amidst OPEC+’s decision to hit pause on further production increases.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $63.60 per barrel, up around 0.3% from the previous close of $63.43. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also increased by about 0.3% to $59.67, compared to $59.48 in the prior session.

The eight members of the OPEC+ group, comprising Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December, while pausing further increases from January to March 2026 due to seasonality.

The group’s plan to pause production increases in the first quarter of next year eased oversupply worries and lifted prices.

US commercial crude oil inventories increased by 1.3% during the week ending Oct. 31, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) late Wednesday.

Inventories rose by around 5.2 million barrels to 421.2 million barrels, against market prediction of a 2.4 million-barrels decrease.

Strategic petroleum reserves, which are excluded from commercial crude stocks, increased 500,000 barrels reaching to 409.6 million barrels, the data revealed.

Over the same period, gasoline inventories decreased by around 4.7 million barrels to 206 million barrels. EIA data showed that US crude oil production increased by 7,000 barrels per day (bpd) to about 13.65 million bpd during the week ending Oct 31.

US crude oil imports increased by 873,000 bpd to approximately 5.92 million bpd, while exports rose by around 6,000 barrels bpd to around 4.36 million bpd over the same period.

In the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) released on Oct. 10, the EIA predicted that crude oil output in the country would reach an average of 13.53 million bpd in 2025. #Oil Prices Steady as U.S Crude Inventories Climb Tanzania’s Internet Blackout, X Suspension Cost Over $238m – PIN