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Oil Prices Test $70 Again As EIA Inventory Falls, Despite Dovish OPEC

Skerdian Meta•Wednesday, December 11, 2024•1 min read

Oil prices are $1.50 higher today, helped by the drawdown in EIA crude Inventories, while ignoring the dovish report from OPEC regarding the global Oil demand in 2025.

EIA crude Oil inventories showed a 1.5 million barrel draw for last week

Oil prices started the week near $67, a critical support level for WTI crude, and quickly gained momentum, rising $3 over the past three days to reach $70 per barrel. This upward trend has been fueled by geopolitical developments in the Middle East, including the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, and the Biden administration’s plans to impose additional sanctions on Russia.

Despite the gains, the outlook for oil remains uncertain. OPEC released its most pessimistic report yet, significantly revising its global oil demand projection for 2025 downward, according to Bloomberg. Crude prices also faced pressure from weak economic data out of China.

WTI Oil Chart Daily – The Highs Continue to Get Lower

WTI Oil continues to make lower highs
WTI Oil continues to make lower highs

A disappointing foreign trade report showed China’s imports fell by 3.9% and exports grew by just 6.7% in November compared to the previous year. These figures fell short of economists’ expectations of an 8.7% drop in imports and a 0.9% increase in exports, signaling ongoing challenges for Chinese consumers. Additionally, a lower-than-expected consumer price index (CPI) released by China on Monday highlighted the persistent weakness in domestic demand, adding to the bearish sentiment in traditional energy markets. However, the decline in EIA inventories helped Oil prices further today, sending WTI 50 cent higher to $70.

EIA Weekly Crude Oil Inventories

    • Decline of -1.425 million barrels vs. -0.901 million barrels expected.

  • Gasoline Inventories:

    • Increase of +5.086 million barrels vs. +1.664 million barrels expected.

  • Distillate Inventories:

    • Increase of +3.235 million barrels vs. +1.373 million barrels expected.

  • Refinery Utilization:

    • Decline of -0.9% vs. -0.5% expected.

Private API Crude Inventory Report (Yesterday)

    • Crude: +499,000 barrels.
    • Gasoline: +2.852 million barrels.
    • Distillates: +2.452 million barrels.

US WTI Crude Oil Live Chart

WTI
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Skerdian Meta
Lead Analyst
Skerdian Meta Lead Analyst. Skerdian is a professional Forex trader and a market analyst. He has been actively engaged in market analysis for the past 11 years. Before becoming our head analyst, Skerdian served as a trader and market analyst in Saxo Bank's local branch, Aksioner. Skerdian specialized in experimenting with developing models and hands-on trading. Skerdian has a masters degree in finance and investment.
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