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Oil prices fell for an eighth consecutive session on Wednesday, the longest run of losses since July 2014, after a report showed that crude oil inventories in the US had risen for a seventh consecutive week and that oil production in the United States had broken a record.
Non-sulphured light crude for December delivery ended down 0.9% at $ 61.67 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The global benchmark, Brent, fell 0.1% to $ 72.07 a barrel.
The US benchmark dropped to $ 61.20 a barrel on Wednesday, which places it at the limit of a bear market, which generally corresponds to a 20% drop from the recent peak. Prices are expected to break below $ 61.13 a barrel to enter a bear market.
The Energy Information Administration said Wednesday crude oil inventories in the United States rose 5.8 million barrels last week to 432 million barrels, the highest total since early June. The report also indicates that US oil production hit a record 11.6 million barrels a day last week, up from 11.2 million barrels a day a week earlier.
"A much larger than expected crude rose after rising oil imports and production in the US It broke a new record, increasing US oil inventories by 4.6 million after two weeks of draws" said Kyle Cooper, consultant at ION Energy. . "Overall, the report was considered rather bearish."
Oil prices have been steadily declining since October 3, when they closed at a record high of nearly $ 76.41 per barrel.
Stewart Glickman, an energy equity analyst at CFRA Research in New York, said that before October, the markets were considering new US sanctions against Iran, which would ban countries from buying Iranian oil, as a factor in sustainably supporting rising oil prices. because it would reduce the global supply.
Saudi Arabia, which de facto chairs OPEC, may demand further cuts when the cartel and its production allies meet on Sunday.
Photo:
Omar Marques / Zuma Press
However, the Trump administration began granting exemptions to eight countries for a six-month period, including China and India, which caused a drop in oil prices.
"We think that there may be some politics at work here, however, and with the mid-term elections now over, we would not be surprised to see the government take an even harder line. "said Mr. Glickman. "Another OPEC meeting is announcing later this month, and Saudi Arabia would apparently be interested in again discussing a reduction in supply, which which (if it was applied) would also generate upward pressure on the crude. "
The meeting of members and allies of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will be held Sunday in Abu Dhabi.
"Saudi Arabia has repeatedly stated its intention to preserve the stability of the market, so the latest increase in oil stocks has led to a reduction in the supply of oil and gas. agenda of the meeting, "said Giovanni Staunovo, commodity analyst at UBS Wealth Management.
At a press conference on Wednesday, President Trump said his decision to relax the sanctions on oil imposed on Iran was directly responsible for lower crude oil prices in the market .
"I'm getting them down. If you look at oil prices, they have dropped considerably, "said Trump. "It's my fault. Because you have a monopoly called OPEC and I do not like this monopoly. I do not like it. "
Mr. Trump said the lightened sanctions on Iranian oil "will become more severe over time, perhaps," but added that he had to be careful because "I do not want to bring down the price of oil at 100 or 150 dollars a barrel ".
Among refined products, gasoline futures for December delivery decreased by 2.75% to $ 1.6474 per gallon. Diesel futures increased 2.1% to $ 2.2371 per gallon.
-Christopher Alessi contributed to this article.
Write to Dan Molinski at [email protected]
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