A barrel of US crude oil, WTI, is trading close to $ 41 a barrel. Focus is now shifting to US inventory data, released today by the Energy Information Administration. This is not the only event expected. The American Fed and its tone will have a decisive role in determining the fate of oil.
Futures fell yesterday, Tuesday, by 1.3%. Bloomberg analysts expect a 450,000 increase in oil inventories. While the American Petroleum Institute said last night that the stock fell by 6.83 million barrels, while it recorded an increase in gasoline stocks by 10.8 million barrels. The central bank is preparing to disclose the interest decision today, Wednesday.
The research organization, Ristad Energy, believes that the risk of oil recovering from the glut that occurred this year is still a threat, and said it expects supplies to outpace demand over the next three months. The management of the American Petroleum Institute reported that the supply of petroleum products increased by 187,000 barrels.
After recovering strongly from the April declines, oil prices struggle to determine their direction. US crude oil contracts continue to move in a narrow range between 40 and 41 dollars a barrel. Corona virus continues to spread across the United States. Infection rates hit a record high in New Jersey. While from the Netherlands to Malaysia, everyone is witnessing a rise in new cases, and China has an epidemic gathering in Beijing.
While the sharp recovery in gasoline demand with increased consumption pushing oil prices higher, it appears to be only its bullish momentum globally, with the continued outbreak of the Corona virus. The consultant oil company, FGI, says that the demand for gasoline will reach 9 million barrels this year, and the President of the Air Transport Association expects that the future of demand will not return to levels before Corona until after at least 5 years.