
WTI Crude Oil Prices Weaken as EIA Reports Sudden Build in US Inventories
WTI crude oil is trading bearish on Friday, falling after the release of the EIA report revealed weak demand for oil in the US despite some sectors of the economy reopening. At the time of writing, WTI crude oil is trading at around $33.15 per barrel.
According to the EIA report, crude inventories in the US increased by 7.9 million barrels during the previous week. The build was far higher than the 5 million barrel increase registered previously and also beat economists’ forecast, which was for a rise by 2.5 million barrels instead.
Crude oil prices have also come under pressure this week on account of escalating tensions between the US and China. On Thursday, China passed the national security bill on Hong Kong and US President Donald Trump is expected to announce his response to this move later today, which could send the market sentiment into a risk-off mode and impact oil prices.
Despite these developments, WTI crude oil prices are all set to post a gain for the fifth consecutive week, having risen by 1.5% so far this week. Oil traders have been buoyed by the deeper supply cuts by leading oil producers even as economic activity restarts across several parts of the world.
In the coming days, the movement in crude oil prices can be influenced by developments surrounding the upcoming OPEC meeting. Some OPEC countries are interested in extending supply cuts of nearly 10 million bpd beyond the current deadline which ends in June.