© Reuters
Investing.com – Just a moment ago, data from the US Energy Information Administration missed analysts’ expectations.
And the US Energy Information Administration revealed, today, Wednesday, a rise in stocks in the range of 2.423 million barrels, compared to expectations of an increase of 2.457 million barrels, while it recorded an actual rise in the week before last by 4.14 million barrels.
On the other hand, gasoline inventories rose by more than expectations, jumping to 5.008 million barrels, compared to expectations for an increase of 1.27 million barrels, while gasoline inventories recorded a rise in the week before last, around 2.576 million barrels.
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oil now
After the release of the data, oil pared its gains, rising by less than 1% for both Brent and Nymex crudes, with the first recording an increase of 0.6%, while US crude increased by 0.7%.
Minutes before the data was released, oil prices rose, with US Nymex light crude rising to 78.2 per barrel, an increase of 1.4%, or the equivalent of $1.1.
Before the data was released, the benchmark recorded an increase of 1.4%, or the equivalent of $1.05 per barrel, to reach levels near $85 per barrel.
sudden drop
Oil prices started trading today, Wednesday, on the rise, after the release of the preliminary oil inventories data from the American Petroleum Institute, which came in contradiction to expectations.
The American Petroleum Institute said that crude oil inventories fell by 2.1 million barrels in the week ending February 1.
On the other hand, analysts’ expectations hovered around an increase in inventories by about 2.15 million barrels, compared to an actual increase in the week before last by about 6.1 million barrels.
The American Institute said in its weekly report that gasoline stocks rose by 5.2 million barrels, and distillate stocks rose by 1.1 million barrels.
Raising expectations for 2023
In the administration raised its expectations for crude production in the United States during the current year, but reduced estimates for next year.
And the Energy Information Administration expected, through its short-term outlook report, that the average crude oil production in the United States would reach 12.49 million barrels per day in the current year, an increase of 0.6% from the estimates issued last month.
While the agency lowered its forecast for US oil production in 2024 to 12.65 million barrels per day, a decline of 1.2% from previous estimates.
The Energy Information Administration expected the average price of US West Texas crude this year to reach $77.84 a barrel, representing an increase from previous estimates by about 0.9%, while it kept its estimate for the price next year unchanged at $71.57.
The agency raised its forecast for the benchmark Brent crude price by 0.6% at $83.63 a barrel, while expectations for 2024 did not change at $77.57.
