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Crude oil futures ended little changed on Thursday, as a surprisingly large build in US inventories that raised concerns about demand and a potential ceasefire in the Middle East hampered any potential recovery from yesterday's sharp losses.
Dip in Global demand for diesel is also high Which fuels concerns about slowing oil demand growth In major economies; Gasoil inventories, which include diesel, rose more than 3% in Europe's Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp refining and storage hub during the week through Thursday, Reuters reported, citing data from Insights Global, a consultancy.
Alex Hodes, an oil analyst at StoneX, told Reuters that diesel demand at the PADD 3 refining hub on the US Gulf Coast is estimated to be below the previous three-year range, and “the negative is that even as these inventories build up, distillate production at PADD 3 at level. Its lowest level since the beginning of March.”
Front-month Nymex crude (CL1:COM) for June delivery has ended -0.1% to $78.95 per barrel, a fourth consecutive daily decline, while July Brent crude (CO1:COM) closed +0.3% To $83.67 per barrel.
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With WTI crude oil reaching below $80, OPEC and its allies will have…All the motivation to move forwardIts production is being reduced during the rest of the year, said Manish Raj, managing director of Filandera Energy Partners Market monitoring.
87% of traders and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect OPEC+ to do so Extension of production restrictionsAnd perhaps until the end of the year.
Also, US natural gas futures settled Thursday at their highest levels since early February, after the Energy Information Administration reported a 59 billion cubic feet increase in domestic supplies for the week ending April 26.
Shares of Nymex Natural Gas (NG1:COM) closed the first month of June +5.3% to $2.035 per million British thermal units, the best settlement value since February 5.
Prices have been supported NatGasWeather.com said higher feedstock gas flows to Freeport LNG and lower US production, as well as Chesapeake Energy's (CHK) decision to maintain production cuts.