The price of a barrel of oil fell globally by more than 1.5%, at the end of trading today, Thursday, June 8 (2023), to return to decline, after it rose in the previous session, supported by fears of a shortage of supply after Saudi Arabia pledged to cut production by about 1.5 million barrels per day during July. Next, which is what overwhelmed On concerns about weak demand due to the global economic slowdown.
Crude prices fell by more than 4% during trading, against the backdrop of newspaper reports indicating that the United States and Iran were close to a deal that would help ease the sanctions imposed against Tehran, before cutting their losses with the decline of the US currency.
The oil markets are experiencing a state of uncertainty. what causes price fluctuations; At a time when US crude stocks fell, fuel stocks rose; This indicates a decline in demand despite the entry into the summer driving season in the United States.
The global price of a barrel of oil today
At the end of the session, the price of benchmark Brent crude futures – for August 2023 delivery – fell by about 1.3%, to $75.96 a barrel.
Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate crude futures – for July 2023 delivery – fell 1.7%, to $71.29 a barrel, according to figures seen by the specialized energy platform.
The global price of a barrel of oil ended its trading, yesterday, Wednesday, June 7, with an increase of more than 1% in an attempt to compensate for the losses it suffered in the previous session.
Oil price analysis
The gains in the price of a barrel of oil globally during the previous session came with the support of Saudi Arabia’s plans to make large production cuts to 9 million barrels per day in July, although price gains are still limited due to high US fuel inventories and weak Chinese economic data.
“The global oil price has been trying to recover recently, but it has been struggling,” said market analyst at IG, Yip Jun Rong, according to Reuters.
“Tight supply may continue but the weaker demand outlook is keeping oil prices within their wide range since the start of the year, with immediate resistance at $80 for Brent,” Yip added.
The larger-than-expected build in US fuel inventories, reported on Wednesday, raised concerns about demand from the world’s largest oil consumer, especially as travel was expected to grow over the Memorial Day weekend.
US oil stocks
The Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that gasoline inventories rose by 2.7 million barrels in the week, above analysts’ expectations for a rise of 880,000 barrels.
Distillate inventories rose by about 5.1 million barrels in the week, exceeding analysts’ expectations for a rise of 1.3 million barrels.
Analysts at Citi said, today, Thursday: “We considered reducing oil prices significantly in the absence of OPEC + action, last Sunday, but even a reduction of one million barrels per day seems unlikely to support a sustainable increase in the price of a barrel of oil globally.”
“Both the OPEC and IEA forecasts had an air of wishful thinking about accelerating demand growth by the end of the year,” the analysts added.
Meanwhile, US crude inventories unexpectedly fell by 451 thousand barrels per week; Refineries produced fuel at the highest level since 2019 over the Memorial Day holiday.
Leave a Reply