Oil Rises Slightly After US Stocks Data
Oil prices rose slightly following a smaller-than-expected drop in U.S. crude stocks. Brent crude oil inched up 0.1% to $79.56 a barrel while West Texas Instrument (WTI) also gained 0.1% to $75.38.
EIA data showed U.S. crude stocks fell by 708,000 barrels in the week through Friday, smaller than the 1.8 million-barrel drop analysts had been forecasting. Still, investor sentiment about the U.S. economy has turned more positive in recent weeks while Russian exports have weakened helping to drive oil prices higher.
“The U.S. economy remains resilient, production cuts continue, the Fed appears closer to finishing its rate hike cycle” while China could be poised to set out new stimulus measures, says Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial.
US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 0.2% during the week ending July 14, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) late Wednesday.
Inventories fell by around 700,000 barrels to 457.4 million barrels, less than the American Petroleum Institute’s expectation of a fall of 2.25 million barrels. Strategic petroleum reserves, which are excluded from commercial crude stocks, remained unchanged at 346.8 million barrels last week, the data revealed.
Gasoline inventories, however, declined by 1.1 million to 218.4 million barrels over the same period.
EIA data showed that US crude oil imports increased by about 1.29 million barrels per day (bpd) to around 7.17 million bpd during the week ending July 14, while crude oil exports also rose by about 1.67 million bpd to about 3.81 million bpd.
US crude oil production, meanwhile, declined by 11,000 bpd and stood at 12.7 million bpd over the same period. In the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) released on July 12, the EIA predicted crude oil output in the country would reach an average of 12.56 million bpd this year.
Next year, crude oil output in the country is expected to reach 12.85 million bpd. The findings show that the country’s crude oil demand recovery from pandemic-era lows is taking longer than expected, sending prices lower.
Meanwhile, as investors hope for significant stimulus measures from China as the country’s latest economic data signals slower-than-expected growth in the world’s second-largest economy, experts say the figures may not be low enough to trigger large-scale rescue measures from top policymakers. #Oil Rises Slightly After US Stocks Data
