December WTI crude oil (CLZ24) Wednesday closed down -0.30 (-0.42%), and December RBOB gasoline (RBZ24) closed down -0.0092 (-0.45%).
Crude oil and gasoline prices settled moderately lower on Wednesday. Crude prices Wednesday were under pressure from a stronger dollar after the dollar index (DXY00) surged to a 4-month high. Also, Wednesday's weekly EIA report was negative for crude after crude and gasoline inventories unexpectedly rose. Crude prices recovered from their worst levels Wednesday after the S&P 500 soared to a record high on speculation President-elect Trump's policies will boost economic growth and energy demand.
Crude has support from Sunday's news that OPEC+ will delay its 180,000 bpd crude production increase by a month, the second straight month that the supply increase has been postponed. OPEC's Oct crude production rose +370,000 bpd to 26.9 million bpd.
Bellicose comments from Iran on Monday were bullish for crude when Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of a "crushing response" to Israel's recent air strikes on Iran. Also, a report by the Wall Street Journal Sunday said that Iran is planning a counterattack on Israel involving more powerful warheads and other weapons. An escalation of hostilities between Iran and Israel could widen the conflict in the Middle East and disrupt the region's crude supplies.
A decline in crude oil held worldwide on tankers is bullish for oil prices. Vortexa reported Monday that crude oil stored on tankers that have been stationary for at least seven days fell by -8.2% w/w to 51.44 million bbl in the week ended November 1.
Crude demand in China has weakened and is a bearish factor for oil prices. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, China's total apparent oil demand in Sep fell -6.98% y/y to 14.176 million bpd, and total Chinese oil demand this year (Jan-Sep) is down -3.8% y/y to 13.99 million bpd.
A decline in Russian crude exports is bullish for crude. Weekly vessel-tracking data from Bloomberg showed Russian crude exports fell by -530,000 bpd to 3.02 million bpd in the week to November 3, a 6-week low. However, Russia's Energy Ministry reported on October 23 that Russia's Sep crude production was 8.97 million bpd, down -13,000 bpd from Aug and just below the 8.98 million bpd output target it agreed to with OPEC+.
Wednesday's weekly EIA report was bearish for crude and products. EIA crude inventories unexpectedly rose +2.15 million bbl versus expectations of a -90,000 bbl decline. Also, EIA gasoline supplies unexpectedly rose _412,000 bbl versus expectations of -500,000 bbl. In addition, EIA distillate stockpiles unexpectedly rose +2.9 million bbl versus expectations of a -497,000 bbl draw. Finally, crude supplies at Cushing, the delivery point for WTI futures, rose +522,000 bbl.
Wednesday's EIA report showed that (1) US crude oil inventories as of November 1 were -4.6% below the seasonal 5-year average, (2) gasoline inventories were -2.4% below the seasonal 5-year average, and (3) distillate inventories were -5.9% below the 5-year seasonal average. US crude oil production in the week ending November 1 was unchanged w/w at a record 13.5 million bpd.
Baker Hughes reported last Friday that active US oil rigs in the week ending November 1 fell by -1 rig to 479 rigs, just above the 2-1/2 year low of 477 rigs posted in the week ending July 19. The number of US oil rigs has fallen over the past year from the 4-year high of 627 rigs posted in December 2022.
On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
