EIA Inventory Report Sends Oil Prices Higher

Crude oil prices inched higher today after the Energy Information Administration reported a crude oil inventory draw of 7.9 million barrels for the week to July 9.

The report was delayed due to a technical issue, per MarketWatch.

Last week’s inventory decline compared with a draw of 6.9 million barrels for the previous week and an estimated decline of 4 million barrels, as reported by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday.

At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $ 76.15 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was trading at $74.79 a barrel, both down from opening as Saudi Arabia and UAE agreed on the extension of OPEC+ production cuts until end-2022, with UAE allowed to up production.

In gasoline, the authority estimated a stock build of 1 million barrels for the week to July 9, which compared with significant draw of 6.1 million barrels reported for the previous week. Production of gasoline last week averaged 9.9 million bpd, which compared with 10.6 million bpd for the previous week.

Gasoline demand has been on a strong rebound in the United States and this, coupled with tighter supply and logistical problems, has brought prices at the pump at the highest in months. The national average per gallon of gasoline was $3.12 per gallon as of July 12, per GasBuddy.

In middle distillates, meanwhile, the EIA reported an inventory build of 3.7 million barrels for the week to July 9. This compared with an inventory build of 1.6 million barrels for the previous week.

Middle distillate production averaged 4.9 million bpd last week, compared with 5 million bpd for the previous week.

Oil prices have been on the seesaw recently, as rising worry about the spread of the latest coronavirus variant—and reports of newly emerging ones—dampened optimism about the global economy somewhat.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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