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▲Photo = Naver Finance |
[에너지경제신문 유예닮 기자] Despite the plunge in US crude oil stocks, international oil prices ended after hitting an intraday peak and falling.
West Texas crude oil (WTI) for March delivery on the New York Commercial Exchange (NYMEX) on the 18th (local time) closed at $60.53, down 1.03% ($0.63) per barrel from the previous day.
The April Brent crude on the London ICE Futures Exchange hit $65.52 during the day, but closed at $63.93, down 0.64% ($0.41) per barrel from the previous day.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced that US crude oil inventories had declined by about 7.3 million barrels in a week until the 12th. That’s about three times more than the 2.4 million barrels predicted by analysts.
However, despite news of inventory declines, oil prices fell and the market closed.
Reuters reported that the reason for the rallying of oil prices in the face of low global demand for crude oil in recent months is “due to the production cutoff policy of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and OPEC+, a major oil-producing country coalition.”
However, Reuters quoted a source and said, “It is highly likely that oil-producing countries will follow a price recovery after April and implement a policy of easing production cuts.”
Various factors contributed to the decline in US crude oil stocks.
The cold wave that struck the southern part of the United States paralyzed 20% of all refineries in the United States and stopped producing crude oil and natural gas across the United States.
In particular, Texas, the largest oil producer in the United States and the center of this cold wave, has recovered electricity to some households after the power outage, but is still suffering from a cold wave for the sixth day.
According to Reuters, state authorities are also struggling to block oil and gas from flowing into Mexico due to energy shortages.
Regarding the energy shortage, SEB’s raw materials analyst Villan Shieldrop said, “The recent power outages are bringing US crude oil inventories below the five-year average faster than expected.”
In addition, the increase in crude oil exports also affected inventory declines.
In an announcement that day, EIA announced that crude oil exports for a week until the 12th were 3.9 million barrels, the highest since March last year.
“The big chunk was crude oil exports,” said John Kilduff, a researcher at Again Capital in New York. “I don’t know how the weather will change in Texas next week, but I’ll be looking for a pickup service there in the meantime.” said. It is interpreted as saying that demand for crude oil should be reduced for the time being.