Oil prices fell after the release of data from the US Department of Energy regarding an unexpected increase in the country’s oil reserves.
Brent crude futures for June on the London ICE Futures Exchange fell $0.58 (0.54%) to $106.06 a barrel. On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May were down $0.59 (0.58%), to $101.37 a barrel.
The US Department of Energy said that US commercial oil reserves increased last week by 2.42 million barrels – to 412.37 million barrels. Experts polled by Bloomberg had expected a 2.8 million barrel drop in stocks, on average, while participants in Standard & Poor’s Global Commodity Insights had forecast 1.85 million barrels.
Inventories at the terminal in Cushing, Oklahoma, where Nymex-traded oil is stored, rose by 1.7 million barrels. US oil production increased by 100,000 barrels per day compared to last week – to 11.8 million barrels per day.
Commodity inventories of gasoline in the United States last week decreased by 2.04 million barrels of distillate – increased by 771 thousand barrels. Analysts expected a decrease in gasoline stocks by 400,000 barrels, distillate – by 600,000 barrels.
Expectations of further sanctions against Russia by the European Union and the United States supported the market, although it was not expected to affect the energy sector.
European Council President Charles Michel said that sooner or later the European Union will have to resort to measures to limit the import of gas and oil from Russia. He indicated that the fifth package of EU sanctions against Russia, which Brussels is preparing, will include, in particular, a ban on coal imports from Russia.
“The European Union is holding the biggest sword in its reserves at the moment,” Market Watch quoted Carsten Fritsch, commodity analyst at Commerzbank, as saying.
