Crude oil prices rose higher today after the Energy Information Administration reported a 9.9 million barrel crude oil inventory extraction for the week to January 22nd. Fuel inventories were mixed.
Crude oil extraction compared to a construction of 4.4 million barrels for the previous week. It also compared analysts’ expectations for a modest increase of about 600,000 barrels.
In petrol, the authority reported an increase in stocks of 2.5 million barrels for the week to January 22, with an average production of 8.7 million bpd. This compares with a modest drop in stocks of 300,000 barrels and an average production of 8.9 million bpd in the previous week.
The average distillates extracted 800,000 barrels last week, compared to a construction of half a million barrels the previous week. Production averaged 4.5 million bpd for the second week in a row.
The day before the EIA released its weekly oil report, the American Petroleum Institute reported its own estimate for oil stocks, which was for an extraction of 5.272 million barrels. As this amount exceeded analysts’ expectations by a wide margin, oil prices rose. Related to: Top 5 Utility Stocks of 2021
Prices were also supported by reports of possible supply disruptions in Iraq and Libya. The former has stated that it intends to reduce production in line with its commitments under the OPEC + agreement, while the latter’s exports are threatened by the Oil Plant Guard, which claims that it is owed wages.
Meanwhile, the IMF said it expected oil prices to reach $ 50 a barrel this year, which would be significantly higher than the average for 2020 but lower than the average for 2019. However, the forecast was an upward revision. of previous IMF forecasts for oil prices market signaling is improving, however slowly.
At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $ 55.62 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate was changing its hands to $ 52.27 a barrel. Both have fallen since the opening of trade today.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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