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U.S. crude stocks fell by more than 5 million barrels in the most recent week, while fuel stocks rose as refiners boosted output to deal with high demand and low inventories. Crude inventories fell by 5.4 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 11 to 435.4 million barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, compared with expectations in a Reuters poll for a 440,000-barrel drop. “The drawdown in crude supplies is substantial. The crude supply is still very tight, heating oil supply is still below average,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. “My gut feeling is it’s a very supportive report, it shows supplies are very tight.” Refinery crude runs picked up in the most recent week, rising by 63,000 barrels per day to bring refinery utilization rates to 92.9 per cent of overall capacity, up 0.8 percentage points. Fuel stocks rose across the board, a salve for end-users worried about low inventories that have persisted for several mo...

Oil prices fell more than 3% on Thursday, with demand squeezed by mounting COVID-19 cases in China and fears of more aggressive hikes in U.S. interest rates. Brent crude fell $3.08 to settle at $89.78 a barrel, down 3.3%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slid $3.95, or 4.6%, to settle at $81.64 per barrel. “It’s kind of a triple whammy. We’ve got COVID-19 cases rising in China, interest rates are continuing to rise here in the U.S. and now we’ve got technical weakness in the market,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said a basic monetary policy rule would require interest rates to rise to at least around 5%, while stricter assumptions would recommend rates above 7%. The dollar also rose as investors digested U.S. economic data. A stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated oil more expensive for holders of other currencies. China reported rising daily COVID-19 infections and Chinese refiners...

Oil prices seesawed on Friday in thin market liquidity, closing a week marked by worries about Chinese demand and haggling over a Western price cap on Russian oil. Brent crude futures dropped 17 cents to trade at $85.17 a barrel by 11:25 a.m. EST (1625 GMT), having retraced some earlier gains. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 3 cents at $77.91 a barrel. There was no WTI settlement on Thursday due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday and trading volumes remained low. “Because there’s light volume after the holiday, we’re giving up some of the gains here a bit,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures group. Both contracts were headed for their third consecutive weekly declines after hitting 10-month lows this week. Brent was set to end the week down 2.6 per cent, while WTI was on track to fall 2.5 per cent. Brent and WTI’s market structure implies current demand is softening, with backwardation, defined by front-month prices trading above contracts for later...

Oil prices rose by more than $2 a barrel on Wednesday after data showed a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude stockpiles, but gains were capped by a snowstorm that is expected to hit U.S. travel. Brent crude futures for February delivery were up by $2.21, or 2.76%, at $82.20 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $2.06, or 2.7%, to $78.29. U.S. crude inventories fell by 5.89 million barrels, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), compared with estimates for a drop of 1.66 million barrels. Data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday showed a 3.1 million barrel draw in the week to Dec. 16, market sources said. “This report is very bullish, especially with the fact that there’s a draw from the crude oil equation and distillate inventories stopped their streak of builds ahead of the cold blast,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures group. Distillate inventories fell by 242,000 barrels, according to EIA ...

Oil fell by more than $1 a barrel on Thursday in choppy trade as the impact of tighter U.S. crude stocks due to a winter storm in the United States was outweighed by fears that Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and China’s rising COVID-19 cases would dent demand. Brent crude futures were down $1.41, or 1.7%, to $80.79 by 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT), after gaining around 2.7% from the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.18, or 1.5%, to $77.11 a barrel. Oil gave up its daily gains after the release of U.S. economic data showed the number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased less than expected last week and the economy rebounded faster than previously estimated in the third quarter. The rosy data increased concerns the Fed would become more likely to intensify its rate hikes in a move that could slow the economy and hamper fuel consumption. “That started to ruin the momentum because of fears the Fed would be back chopping dow...

Oil prices rose over 1 per cent on Monday after China’s move to reopen its borders boosted the outlook for fuel demand and overshadowed global recession concerns. The rally was part of a wider boost for risk sentiment supported by both the reopening of the world’s biggest crude importer and hopes for less-aggressive increases to U.S. interest rates, with equities rising and the dollar weakening. Brent crude was up $1.29, or 1.6 per cent, at $79.80 a barrel by 1:29 p.m. EST (1829 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.32, or 1.8 per cent, to $75.09. “The gradual reopening of the Chinese economy will provide an additional and immeasurable layer of price support,” said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM. The rally followed a drop last week of more than 8 per cent for both oil benchmarks, their biggest weekly declines at the start of a year since 2016. As part of a “new phase” in the fight against COVID-19, China opened its borders over the weekend for the first time in three years....

Oil prices settled largely unchanged on Wednesday after government data showed a smaller-than-anticipated build in U.S. crude inventories, countering weak economic data from Tuesday. Brent crude futures settled at $86.12 a barrel, down a cent, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $80.15 a barrel, up by 2 cents. The Brent benchmark had dropped 2.3% and WTI futures slipped 1.8% in Tuesday’s session after data showed U.S. business activity contracted in January for the seventh straight month, raising concerns about an economic slowdown. “End of the day here, the market is starting to get a little more anxious about the economy and things along those lines,” Mizuho analyst Robert Yawger said. “Main worry at this point is demand destruction due to an economic slowdown.” WTI prices briefly rose by over $1 per barrel on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that U.S. crude inventories rose by 533,000 barrels in the last week to 448...

U.S. crude and gasoline inventories rose, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday, on weaker demand for fuel products. Crude inventories rose by a less-than-expected 533,000 barrels in the last week to 448.5 million barrels, compared with forecasts for a million-barrel rise. “The increase was much smaller than anticipated and that’s raising concerns about tightness in supply,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group. U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 1.8 million barrels in the week to 232 million barrels, the EIA said.​ Total product supplied, a proxy for fuel demand, fell 867,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Meanwhile, refinery utilization rates rose by 0.8 percentage point, bringing the rate above 80% after falling to the lowest levels lowest since March 2021 the week prior. Refinery crude runs rose by 128,000 barrels per day in the last week, the EIA said, as refiners ramped back up after a winter storm caused plants to idle some production. Distillat...