West Texas Intermediate (WTI) New York crude futures closed to a three-week low on Wednesday (Feb. 1) following the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released stockpiling. Crude oil rose more than expected.
- The WTI crude oil contract is delivered in March. Shed $2.46, or 3.12%, at $76.41/barrel. This was the lowest closing level since Jan. 10.
- The Brent crude oil contract (BRENT) is delivered in April. Plunged $2.62, or 3.07%, to close at $82.84/barrel.
Crude futures fell following the EIA said U.S. crude inventories rose 4.1 million barrels last week. That was only 300,000 barrels more than analysts expected.
The EIA also revealed that Crude stocks at Kuching, Oklahoma, the delivery hub for U.S. crude futures, rose 2.3 million barrels.
Gasoline inventories rose 2.3 million barrels, defying analysts’ expectations of flat gains from the previous week. and stock of refined oil Oil prices, including heating oil and diesel, rose 2.3 barrels, defying analysts’ expectations for a drop of 1.3 million barrels.
Markets were also pressured by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) raising short-term interest rates by 0.25% to a range of 4.50-4.75% at its meeting yesterday. which is the highest level since October. 2007 with a signal to continue to raise interest rates because inflation remains high
The Joint Committee on Ministerial Examination (JMMC) of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Allies (OPEC Plus) yesterday decided that OPEC+ would maintain its current policy of cutting production. 2 million barrels/day until the end of 2023
The JMMC committee will hold the next meeting on April 3.
By InfoQuest News Agency (02 Feb. ’23)
