Oil Prices Rise on Decline in US Oil and Fuel Stocks and OPEC Speculation

Oil prices rose today, Wednesday, after data showed a decline in US oil and fuel stocks, in addition to increasing speculation about new production cuts by the “OPEC Plus” alliance, following a warning from the Saudi Energy Minister to speculators, while the dollar stabilized near the highest level in two months with the prolonged negotiations related to raising the ceiling. American religion.

Brent crude futures rose 1.2% to $77.72 a barrel by 08:37 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.3% to $73.89 a barrel.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said he would keep the speculators who bet that prices will fall “in pain” and called on them to be “cautious”.

Some investors saw this as an indication that the “OPEC Plus” alliance – which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia – may discuss further production cuts during a meeting scheduled for June 4.

The rise in oil prices was driven by data showing a sharp decline in US crude oil and fuel inventories. Market sources quoted the American Petroleum Institute as saying that crude stocks fell by about 6.8 million barrels in the week ending May 19, and gasoline stocks fell by about 6.4 million barrels.

And if this is confirmed in data issued by the US Energy Information Administration today, Wednesday, this would mean that gasoline stocks in the United States fell for the third week in a row, to their lowest levels for this period of the year since 2014.

The dollar is stabilizing

The dollar stabilized today, Wednesday, near its highest level in two months, with prolonged negotiations related to raising the US debt ceiling, while the pound sterling rose and then fell after British inflation data came out stronger than expected.

The dollar index, which measures the currency’s performance against a basket of 6 major currencies, settled at 103.5 points, just below Tuesday’s level of 103.65, the highest level since March.

And helped the crisis in Washington over raising the debt ceiling to the rise of the dollar, although that crisis may result in a default on the debt and may push the country into recession, while investors expect it may cause worse problems for the global economy.

Investors largely shy away from high-risk investments; After a new round of talks between the White House and Republicans ended on Tuesday to raise the debt ceiling without any sign of progress.