On Thursday, crude oil prices recovered from a three-week low in the previous session as concerns over tight supplies still clouded the market outlook.
Brent oil futures edged up 1.19% or 1.20 points to $102.20 per barrel. The international benchmark gained its pace from a slump of 5.22% to $101.07 per barrel yesterday.
Then, US West Texas Intermediate crude contracts increased 1.15% or 1.11 points to $97.34 per barrel. The WTI rebounded from its Wednesday plunge of 5.62% to $96.23 per barrel.
The previous downturn came after the International Energy Agency members agreed to release 60.00 million barrels.
This supply is on top of the 180.00 million barrels announced by the United States last week. Overall, it equates to 1.00 million barrels per day in extra supply from May to the end of 2022.
Correspondingly, the contributions would help cap prices in a tight market following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Crude traders mentioned that the oil from the IEA members reflects strong political determination against Russian energy products.
However, analysts explained that the supply remained strained even with the emergency stock release.
State refiners in China, the world’s top oil importer, honored existing Moscow oil contracts. Regardless, it avoided new ones despite steep discounts, heeding a call for caution by Beijing.
Moreover, stalled talks between Iran and the United States on reviving a 2015 agreement kept the market tight. It further delayed the return of Iranian oil to the market.
Negotiators stated a need for political decisions in Tehran and Washington to overcome the remaining issues.
Furthermore, market participants assessed the consequences of a hawkish stance from the Federal Reserve.
Fed policymakers rein in the support they deployed to cushion the impact of the pandemic.
US crude stocks rise unexpectedly
Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed a build of 2.42 million barrels for the week to April 1.
The crude oil supply data unexpectedly jumped from the predicted 2.06 million barrels loss. The record also edged up from the 3.45 million barrels drop in the previous week.
The sudden upturn came after the production reached its highest level before the coronavirus pandemic.
Similarly, crude oil supply data from the American Petroleum Institute posted a build of 1.08 million barrels.
The figure elevated from the analysts’ estimate of a decline of 1.56 million barrels. It also bounced up from a loss of 3.00 million barrels last week.
COMMENTS