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Oil settles lower on indications of alleviating supply tightness

Oil prices closed slightly lower on Tuesday on indications of reducing supply concerns, while market participants moved their focus to U.S. stockpiles data due later today and Wednesday.

Brent crude futures settled 17 cents lower at $83.16. a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures. closed 10 cents lower at $78.38.

Prices fell further in thin post-settlement trading after. market sources stated that data from the American Petroleum. Institute revealed a dive in U.S. crude and fuel stocks last week. Rising inventories, generally an indication of weak demand, have actually defied. analysts' expectations in recent weeks.

Analysts polled anticipated a reduction in U.S. oil. and fuel stockpiles, and official data from the U.S. Energy. Information Administration (EIA) is due at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430. GMT) on Wednesday.

Brent unrefined futures traded at $82.98 a barrel by 4:48 p.m. ET, 35 cents lower than Monday's closing price, and WTI futures. were down 23 cents to $78.26 a barrel. U.S. gas futures. and ultra-low sulfur diesel futures likewise fell in. extended trading.

If EIA reveals less barrels are entering into the refineries,. That is a problem for crude oil here, Mizuho expert. Robert Yawger stated. Heading into peak summertime driving season we. ought to be drawing, not building, he added.

Present worldwide stock information reveals petroleum and petroleum. supplies are running 1.1 million barrel each day above forecasts. in developed economies, according to an analysis by energy. brokerage StoneX.

Global stocks stay in a building stage and has. sped up recently, StoneX analyst Alex Hodes composed to. customers on Tuesday.

The EIA on Tuesday raised its projections for this year's. world oil and liquid fuels output and lowered its need. expectations, pointing to a well-supplied market as opposed to. prior forecasts that showed under-supply.

The premium of the first-month Brent agreement to the. six-month agreement << LCOc1-LCOc7 > slipped to $2.90 a barrel on. Tuesday, the lowest considering that mid-February, another sign of market. participants banking on easing supply tightness.

Recently, Brent and WTI had their steepest weekly. losses in 3 months as weak U.S. jobs information sustained hopes for. interest rate cuts.

Oil rates discovered some support in Tuesday's session from a. U.S. federal government solicitation to buy more than 3 million barrels. of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

Oil traders mainly looked past escalating tensions in the. Middle East, where the Israeli military took control of the. Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt and its. tanks pushed into the southern Gazan town of Rafah, as mediators. struggled to protect a ceasefire agreement.

Instead, their focus appears directed towards the. unpredictabilities surrounding global financial growth potential customers and. the anticipated effect of sluggish development on oil demand, said. Ricardo Evangelista, senior expert at monetary brokerage. ActivTrades.

(source: Reuters)