Oil prices have been yo-yoing lately. Indeed, rises and falls follow one another in an unstable market for several reasons. While fears about the drop in supply, due to the war in Ukraine, are pushing prices upward, the report on American stocks is pushing them down.
This Thursday, November 21, a barrel of Brent from the North Sea is listed at $73.66. As for its American equivalent, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), it is sold at $69.64 per barrel. Oil is thus going through a phase of instability. On Wednesday, prices fell, impacted by the surprise increase in stocks in the United States.
John Kilduff of Again Capital says: the weekly report on US stocks is mixed: the accumulation of crude oil (…) and the precipitous fall in gasoline demand » were bearish elements for the market. In detail, data published by the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) reveal that commercial crude reserves increased by 500,000 barrels last week. Analysts explain that this increase in stocks is linked both to the slowdown in refineries and to an acceleration in imports.
Will OPEC+ postpone the increase in its members' oil production?
This Thursday, November 21, the situation has relatively changed. Indeed, prices have rebounded slightly. Investors are worried about the supply of black gold. The escalation of geopolitical tensions in the context of the war between Russia and Ukraine raises fears of a decline in Russian supply on the market, even though this country is one of the largest oil producers.
To recontextualize, it should be noted that Ukraine fired a volley of British cruise missiles at Russia on Wednesday. In response, the Russian Federation said the use of Western weapons to strike Russian territory far from the border constitutes a major escalation in the conflict. This event therefore caused oil prices to rise relatively.
It must be said that given the situation in the oil markets, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies could once again postpone production increases at their meeting on December 1, due to weak demand. world oil. This option should support prices which have been in their low range for several weeks.
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