New York’s West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures closed higher on Wednesday (Sept. 28) following U.S. crude inventories declined last week. This indicates that oil demand is still recovering. and the impact of Hurricane Ian as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico, a US offshore oil field.
- The WTI crude oil contract was delivered in November. It rose $3.65, or 4.7%, to close at $82.15 a barrel.
- The Brent crude oil contract (BRENT) delivered in November. It was up $3.05, or 3.5%, to close at $89.32 a barrel.
Crude futures rose following the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said U.S. crude inventories fell 215,000 barrels for the week ending Sept. 23, contrary to analysts’ expectations for a rise of 443,000. barrel
Gasoline inventories fell 2.4 million barrels, contrary to analysts’ expectations for a 709,000-barrel increase and refined oil inventories. That included heating oil and diesel, down 2.9 million barrels, just over 69,000 barrels more than analysts had expected.
The market was also driven by the dollar’s depreciation. The dollar index, which measures the dollar’s movements once morest six major currencies in a basket of currencies, fell 1.31 percent to 112.6080 overnight.
The weakening of the dollar has resulted in crude oil contracts priced in dollars. It is cheaper and more attractive to investors holding other currencies.
Crude futures were also positive on forecasts that Hurricane Ian, which is now a Category 4 storm, might affect U.S. oil supplies in the Gulf of Mexico.
According to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), as of Wednesday, Sept. 28, regarding 9.12% of oil production and regarding 5.95% of natural gas were in the Gulf. Mexico has been closed due to the influence of Hurricane Ian.
By InfoQuest News Agency (29 Sep 65)
