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U.S. oil futures settle lower as Fed takes stock before cutting rates

U.S. petroleum futures settled lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held company on its choice to hold off cutting rates of interest in the near future, while growing U.S. crude stockpiles included even more pressure.

Brent unrefined futures settled 3 cents higher, or up 0.04% at $83.68 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures ( WTI) settled 33 cents lower, or down 0.42% at $78.54. Both benchmarks had fallen $1 in earlier trading.

U.S. crude inventories rose by 4.2 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, going beyond experts' expectations of 2.74 million.

Stockpiles have increased for 5 consecutive weeks due to unintended refinery interruptions following a winter season storm in January, along with planned plant turn-arounds.

An above forecast increase in U.S. weekly crude inventories has Once again dragged oil futures lower, Gaurav Sharma, independent expert, said.

U.S. refinery utilization rates edged up 0.9 percentage points recently to 81.5% of overall capability, but were listed below the 10-year seasonal average. Refineries have actually run listed below 83%. utilization rates for the past month, their longest streak in. almost 3 years.

Refiners are still sidelined to a fantastic degree, and not. making a genuine effort to rapidly come out of the shutdowns. experienced in the consequences of the cold wave, John Kilduff,. partner at New York-based Again Capital, stated.

An ongoing failure at BP's 435,000-barrel-per-day Whiting. refinery in Indiana, the biggest plant in the Midwest, has also. decreased fuel stock levels, Kilduff said.

Fuel stocks, in turn, have actually drawn down for a 4th. straight week to a two-month low at 244.2 million barrels and. about 2% below the five-year average for this time of year, the. EIA said.

If this pattern continues for the next 6 to eight weeks, we. could see gas stocks tighten up as we enter into the. driving season, stated Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil. Associates in Houston.

Reports on Tuesday that the Organization of the Petroleum. Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia (OPEC+) will. think about extending voluntary oil output cuts into the second. quarter likely supplied a floor to falling prices.

And hostilities in the Middle East may have provided some. support, after Hamas required Palestinians to march to. Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque at the start of Ramadan, raising the. stakes in ongoing negotiations for a truce in Gaza, which U.S. President Joe Biden hopes will be in location already.

Signs that interest rates in the world's largest. economy would stay raised offset prospective gains.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York City President John Williams. said that, while inflation pressures have actually receded to a noteworthy. degree, he is not yet prepared to say the central bank has actually done all. it needs to do to get inflation back to the Fed's 2% target.?

Williams' comment remained in line with Fed Guv Michelle. Bowman's signals on Tuesday - that she remained in no rush to cut. U.S. rate of interest, provided continuing inflation threats. Higher-for-longer rates could dampen economic development and. suppress need for oil.

Players in the oil market will be looking for clearer. direction from Thursday's January U.S. individual intake. expenses (PCE) rate index, the Fed's preferred measure of. inflation and an essential factor in rate choices.

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(source: Reuters)