After a dip on Tuesday, Brent ended Wednesday’s session up 0.08% at $99.57 and WTI ended up 0.47% at $96.30.
Oil prices stabilized on Wednesday, the day following a fall, in a market still prisoner of insufficient supply and which does not expect relief from the visit of the American president to the Middle East.
The price of a barrel of Brent North Sea oil for September delivery climbed 0.08% to close at $99.57.
The barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI), with maturity in August, ended up 0.47%, at 96.30 dollars.
“Prices have rebounded from yesterday’s crash,” Edward Moya of Oanda said in a note the day following a session that saw Brent and WTI drop more than 7%.
Traders brushed off figures from the weekly U.S. oil inventory report, which showed a surprise rise of 3.3 million barrels, while analysts had expected a contraction of 1.5 million.
The document from the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) also reported an increase of 5.8 million barrels in gasoline inventories, when forecasts were for a decline of one million.
“This report was clearly unfavorable to the prices” of black gold, commented Stephen Schork, analyst and author of the Schork Report. He nevertheless warned that it was “difficult to attach too much importance to figures over a week”.
“The sharp rise in gasoline stocks and the fall in demand caused a certain stir, but we had seen very strong demand before the holiday weekend” of the national holiday, in early July, abounded Matt Smith, of Kpler. “Today’s number simply reflects a hangover.”
The market also shrugged off the monthly report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that soaring fuel prices are beginning to weigh on global oil demand.
Despite Tuesday’s decline, “traders are still facing a tight market, which is unlikely to see a sharp drop in demand for crude in the short term”, according to Edward Moya, for whom “the probability of a recession violent is weak.
“We are in a range around 95 dollars for WTI and I think we will stay there” in the short term, explained Stephen Schork.
Operators expected little from Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East, during which he is to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and discuss, among other things, the issue of oil.
“I don’t expect anything positive,” said Stephen Schork. “You can’t sever relations with someone for a year and a half and expect them to help you when you need them to step up production.”
