Oil prices rose 2% on Friday evening as the dollar weakened, amid expectations that US sanctions on Iran would lead to a drop in crude supply in the market. The effects of those sanctions are expected to be severely felt in the market by November, with the second phase of US sanctions on Iran being introduced.
Brent crude reached for the first time the price of $76.02 a barrel, up 1.29 cents, or 1.73 percent. US crude WTI hit $68.95 a barrel, up 1.12 cents, or 1.65 percent, a 3.7 percent increase from this week’s performance.
Oil prices rose as the US dollar fell, especially after the Federal Reserve Chairman’s remarks, pointing out that there is no risk of accelerating inflation in the United States.
US crude oil inventories fell last week, while gasoline inventories and distillates rose, the Energy Information Administration said. Crude stocks fell 5.8 million barrels last week, while against analysts’ forecasts were for a drop of 1.5 million barrels.
The Department also reported crude stocks at the delivery center in Kaching, Oklahoma, increased by 772,000 barrels, while crude oil consumption fell from 89,000 bpd. Gasoline inventories rose 1.2 million barrels, compared to analysts’ expectations in a poll that claimed it would fall by 488,000 barrels.
Data from the Energy Information Administration showed that distillate stocks, including diesel and heating oil, increased by 1.8 million barrels, while they were expected to rise by 1.5 million barrels. US crude oil imports fell by 1.1 million bpd last week.
US natural gas inventories rose more than expected last week. Data from the US Energy Information Administration showed that natural gas inventories rose by 48 billion cubic feet in the week ending Aug. 17 to 2436 billion cubic feet. Analysts had forecast US natural gas inventories to rise by 47 billion cubic feet. On a year-on-year basis, US natural gas inventories fell by 684 billion cubic feet from the same period last year.
Over the past week, the United States announced that it plans to offer 11 million barrels of its oil reserves for sale as US economic sanctions against Iran begin. An international report said the US decision to release 11 million bpd of its 660 million barrels of strategic oil reserves at this time, reflecting the White House’s concern about the oil market, which is narrow and tightening amid the trend toward renewed US sanctions on Iran.
The report was based on oil analysts who confirmed the White House administration’s demand that allies stop all imports of Iranian oil by November 4, adding that this has raised concerns about the global crude oil supply. The report predicted that the sale of 11 million barrels over two months will not do much to reduce the impact of sanctions estimated by the US administration, that it will remove from 700 thousand to one million barrels per day of Iranian crude from the global market by November.
Be the first to comment