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Crude oil prices rose today after the Energy Information Administration reported a crude oil inventory drawdown of 6.6 million barrels for the week ending February 5. The gasoline and middle distillate stocks were again mixed.
The report came a day after the American Petroleum Institute depressed oil traders by reporting a massive build-up of gasoline inventories, dashing hopes of a rapid recovery in fuel demand.
Analysts expected the EIA to report an increase in crude oil inventories, to 1.34 million barrels.
A week earlier, the authority had estimated a draw from crude oil inventories at 1 million barrels.
In gasoline, the EIA reported an increase in inventories of 4.3 million barrels for the period under review, compared with a sharp increase of 4.5 million barrels reported the previous week.
Gasoline production averaged 8.7 million bpd last week, down from 8.4 million bpd a week earlier.
In middle distillates, the EIA reported an inventory drawdown of 1.7 million barrels for the week ending February 5, with an average production of 4.7 million bpd.
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This compares to no change in stocks a week earlier, leaving them about 8% higher than the five-year seasonal average. Production in the last week of January averaged 4.6 million bpd.
Earlier this week, the EIA revised upward its price projections for Brent and West Texas Intermediate, saying it now expects them to hit $ 53.20 a barrel and $ 50, respectively. $ 21 per barrel this year. The benchmarks would increase further, albeit modestly in 2022, according to the authority.
Brent and WTI are already trading above their expected average for the year, pushed higher by Covid-19 vaccinations and a tighter bid, with some analysts and hedge fund managers expecting prices increase significantly before the end of this year, with the number mentioned varying from $ 70-80 to over $ 100, with the latter considered possible next year.
Brent crude was trading at $ 61.10 per barrel at the time of writing, and West Texas Intermediate changed hands at $ 58.24 per barrel.
By Irina Slav for OilUSD
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