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Crude oil futures closed Wednesday with back-to-back losses but settled above session lows after official U.S. data revealed a second straight weekly decline in domestic crude supplies.
U.S. crude inventories fell by a smaller than expected 846K barrels to 425.2M barrels last week, along with a 2.2M-barrel drawdown in gasoline stockpiles, and refineries operated at 93.3% of capacity compared to 92.3% in the previous week, the Energy Information Administration reported.
“It is a little surprising to see such a small crude draw if refinery runs were really that strong, at a six-week high,” Kpler lead oil analyst Matt Smith said, as reported by Reuters, adding that ongoing strength in imports and slightly lower exports helped keep the draw in check.
“The barrel dodged a bullet with a rather positive EIA storage report today, with crude oil cutting losses and the RBOB gasoline crack trading to positive territory after posting a multi-year low earlier in the session,” Mizuho’s Robert Yawger said, according to Dow Jones, but “crude oil builds will start to happen more frequently in coming weeks as summer driving season winds down, and fall maintenance takes over.”
China demand weakness also continued to weigh on prices, “and the expected second-half rebound has yet to show credible signs of commencing,” Barclays analyst Amarpreet Singh noted.
Front-month Nymex crude (CL1:COM) for October delivery settled -1.3% to $74.52/bbl, and front-month October Brent crude (CO1:COM) finished -1.1% to $78.65/bbl.
U.S. natural gas futures (NG1:COM) rose for the first time in seven sessions ahead of the EIA’s weekly report expected to show a small decline in the inventory surplus, with front-month Nymex September gas ending +1.3% to $1.930/MMBtu.
ETFs: (NYSEARCA:USO), (BNO), (UCO), (SCO), (USL), (DBO), (DRIP), (GUSH), (USOI), (UNG), (BOIL), (KOLD), (UNL), (FCG)
The potential loss of Libyan oil and the possible expansion of the Israel-Gaza conflict to include the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon remain the largest risks to oil markets, limiting oil’s decline on Wednesday.
If the energy market stays weak, Tariq Zahir at Tyche Capital Advisors told MarketWatch he would be a buyer, given the reported production halt in Libya and as the peak of Atlantic hurricane season threatens to disrupt output from the Gulf of Mexico.
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