WTI has tumbled this morning (back below $68) as Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Energy Analyst Vince Piazza notes that optimism for crude oil has softened from previous highs this summer. Elevated U.S. production, concerns about tariffs slowing global economic growth and rising world oil output have weakened sentiment. Renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran partially offset the bearishness.
API
Crude -6mm (-3mm exp)
Cushing -576k (-1mm exp)
Gasoline +3.1mm (first build since June)
Distillates+1.8mm
DOE
Crude -1.35mm (-3mm exp)
Cushing (-1mm exp)
Gasoline +2.9mm (-1.9mm exp) (first build since June)
Distillates
After last week’s surprise 3.8mm crude build, DOE reported a considerable smaller than expected (and API-reported) draw but a big build in gasoline and distillates is putting pressure on WTI prices…
Cushing stocks have now fallen for 12 straight weeks to the lowest since 2014
Production fell for the 2nd week in a row (remember the EIA rule changes mean we are now only getting incremental 100k shifts rounded up or down)…
On the import side,. U.S. imported zero barrels of Colombian crude for the first time ever…
WTI has traded in a $3 range for the last few weeks…
“The very tight trading range hides the fact that all is not well,” said Ole Sloth Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank A/S in Copenhagen.
“Oil looks increasingly sandwiched between the risk to demand in the medium-to-long term from trade wars, and the undetermined risk to supplies in the short-term from Iran sanctions.”
And after trading below $68 ahead of the DOE print, selling pressure build after…
