After last week’s surprising inventory climb reported by the Energy Information Administration, data released by the American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday displayed further gains. According to the advance figures, US onshore inventories rose by 4.200 million barrels last week despite expectations that stockpiles would fall by -1.500 million barrels. Crude oil in storage at Cushing also rose, climbing 528,000 barrels last week, beating forecasts of 500,000 additional barrels and marking increases in four of the last five weeks.
WTI futures fell nearly $0.90 after the announcement, trending back below $54.00 per barrel ahead of Thursday’s official data from the EIA. The biggest question looming over the market is whether shale production will continue to rise and if the OPEC deal implementation will be successful or face threats from noncompliant members. Crude for February delivery has recovered all the prior session’s losses, retaking the $54.00 level.
US Crude Stockpiles Notch Additional Gains
Daily Analysis - 29/12/2016