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US oil futures stabilized on Wednesday after the government announced a weekly drop in domestic crude supply, the first in three weeks, but lower than the expected market.
Concerns about energy demand also continued to put pressure on prices.
Looking at inventory data from a trend point of view, "it appears that the sharp decline in crude supply, which provided fundamental support for oil market prices earlier this summer, came to a sudden halt. According to the last three EIA reports, while inventories have actually grown modestly since the end of July, "said Tyler Richey, co-editor of Sevens Report Research.
"Demand concerns related to a potential global economic slowdown remain the main obstacle to oil now," he added.
West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery
CLV19, + 0.57%
fell 45 cents, or 0.8%, to $ 55.68 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as a result of gains made in each of the last three trading days. That was $ 56.77 shortly before the supply data. The October contract for the Brent world benchmark
BRNV19, + 0.85%,
however, it rose 27 cents, or 0.5%, to $ 60.30 per barrel on ICE Futures Europe. On Tuesday, Brent was over $ 60 for the first time this week.
The Energy Information Administration announced Wednesday that US crude inventories fell by 2.7 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 16. This increase followed increases in each of the previous two weeks. Analysts surveyed by S & P Global Platts on average expected a decline of 3.1 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute announced Tuesday a drop of 3.5 million barrels.
EIA data also showed that gasoline inventories had increased slightly by 300,000 barrels, while distillate stocks had increased by 2.6 million barrels last week. The S & P Global Platts survey showed a reduction in supply of 1.6 million barrels of gasoline and 200,000 barrels of distillates.
On the Nymex, essence of September
RBU19, + 0.31%
increased by 1.3 cents, or 0.8%, to $ 1.6938 per gallon, while September fuel oil
HOU19, + 0.15%
added nearly half a cent, or 0.2%, to $ 1.8573 a gallon.
The latest increases in the supply of petroleum products suggest that stocks "currently exceed demand," Richey said.
"Over a longer period, oil inventories are up 7.20% from the corresponding week in 2018, while gasoline inventories are virtually unchanged from those of the year last and that the supply of distillates is up 5.57% over the same period, "he said. . "These figures and trends in the supply data reflect the downward momentum of an oversupplied energy market."
Also on Nymex, natural gas in September
NGU19, -0.09%
fell 4.8 cents, or 2.2%, to settle at $ 2.17 per million British thermal units. According to analysts surveyed by S & P Global Platts, the planned EIA report on Thursday is expected to record a 61 billion cubic feet increase in natural gas inventories in the United States.
Oil prices have reacted little to the publication on Wednesday of the minutes of the July meeting of the Federal Open Market Commission. Fed officials have been reluctant to say how much easing measures they could be willing to support this year. Some officials said the Fed should remain "flexible" and focused on economic data, given the risks to the economy.
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