Oil Prices Rise amid Mixed Signals in US Inventories

Oil prices rose for the third day in a row, on Wednesday, benefiting from a larger-than-expected decline in gasoline and distillate inventories in the United States, a day after the US government lowered its estimates for production growth, according to Reuters.

Brent crude futures rose 0.98% to $79.36 a barrel. While West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose +0.98% to $74.07.

Oil Prices

WTI CRUDE • 74.07 +1.04%

BRENT CRUDE • 79.36 +0.98%

MURBAN CRUDE • 79.32 +1.16%

NATURAL GAS • 1.971 -1.89%

US gasoline inventories fell by 3.15 million barrels last week compared with analysts' estimates of an increase of 140,000 barrels, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Distillate stocks fell by 3.2 million barrels, compared to estimates for the withdrawal of 1 million barrels.

But crude inventories recorded a larger than expected increase of 5.5 million barrels as production recovered after the cold wave, while American refiners intensified maintenance work.

Refinery utilization decreased by 0.5% to 82.4%. On the US Gulf Coast, a deep freeze shut down 15% of refining capacity, pressing utilization rates to their lowest level since September 2021, according to Energy Information Administration data.

On the supply side, the EIA lowered its forecast for 2024 domestic oil production growth on Tuesday, putting it well below last year's increase and predicting it will not reach the record levels set in December 2023 until February 2025.