Crude Oil Heads Toward $70 As EIA Inventory Jumps, ME Tensions Lower
Crude Oil jumped above $72 yesterday on comments of an attack on Iran, but have turned lower today as Blinken tries to ease tensions.
Crude Oil jumped above $72 yesterday on comments of an attack on Iran, but have turned lower today as Blinken tries to ease tensions. Today we ale got the EIA crude inventories, which showed a major buildup, although yesterday’s private API crude Oil inventories also showed an increase, so this wasn’t a major surprise, however it is weighing on Oil prices.
Middle Eastern tensions initially caused oil prices to spike earlier this month, but they have since fallen due to concerns over the global economy. Gold (XAU) briefly hit a record high of $2,758 today before reversing lower. Similarly, crude oil also dropped, with the large EIA inventory buildup contributing to the bearish reversal.
US WTI Chart Daily – Consolidating in A Tight Range
The market remains unconvinced by China’s stimulus measures to address its economic slowdown, while the European Central Bank (ECB) has painted a bleak picture of the Eurozone economy. This has bolstered safe-haven assets like gold. Following reports of higher-than-expected U.S. stockpiles from the EIA today and the American Petroleum Institute (API) yesterday, crude oil has reversed gains from its previous two-day rally.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has advised Israel to avoid escalating the conflict with Iran in the Middle East, mentioning a potential hostage deal. While crude oil briefly returned above $70 per barrel, the underlying issues of a fragile global economy and an oversupply of oil remain the key drivers. If future EIA inventory reports continue to show larger-than-expected buildups, oil prices could face further downward pressure.
Highlights of the Weekly US Oil Report from the EIA
- Crude oil inventories: +5,474K (vs. +270K expected)
- Gasoline inventories: +878K (vs. -1,212K expected)
- Distillate inventories: -1,140K (vs. -1,679K expected)
- Refinery utilization: +1.8% (vs. -0.3% expected)
he weekly report showed a much larger-than-expected increase in crude and gasoline inventories, while distillates fell less than anticipated. Refinery utilization also surpassed expectations, indicating increased refinery activity. Oil was in the midst of a nice intraday bounce before this data but there has been some selling since.
US WTI Crude Oil Live Chart
- Check out our free forex signals
- Follow the top economic events on FX Leaders economic calendar
- Trade better, discover more Forex Trading Strategies
- Open a FREE Trading Account
Related Articles
Comments
Sidebar rates
Related Posts
Save
Join 350 000+ traders receiving Free Trading Signals
Alerts
Rates
Calendar
Signals