Oil prices edge higher as US oil inventories fall
Reuters
Published Dec 29, 2021 04:57
Updated Dec 29, 2021 20:45
By Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices rose on Wednesday, after government data showed U.S. crude and fuel inventories fell last week, offsetting concerns that rising coronavirus cases might reduce demand.
Brent crude rose 29 cents to settle at $79.23 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 58 cents to settle at $76.56 a barrel.
In the United States, the average number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases hit a record high of 258,312 over the last seven days, a Reuters tally on Wednesday found.
Both oil futures contracts earlier traded at their highest in a month after U.S. government data showed lower oil inventories.
Crude inventories fell by 3.6 million barrels in the last week to 420 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3.1 million-barrel drop.
U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 1.5 million barrels over the same period to 222.66 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.5 million-barrel rise.
Distillate stockpiles fell by 1.7 million barrels to 122.43 million barrels, versus expectations for a 0.2 million-barrel rise, the EIA data showed.
"It's draws across the board which are supportive," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. "We do continue to creep up on domestic production, which is positive."
Oil prices have been underpinned by Ecuador, Libya and Nigeria declaring forces majeures this month on part of their oil production because of maintenance issues and oilfield shutdowns.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that the OPEC+ group of producers has resisted calls from Washington to boost output because it wants to provide the market with clear guidance and not deviate from policy on gradual increases to productions.
Investors are awaiting an OPEC+ meeting on Jan. 4, when the alliance will decide whether to proceed with a planned production increase of 400,000 barrels per day in February.
At its last meeting OPEC+ stuck to its plans to boost output for January despite the spread of the Omicron variant.
Get The App
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.