Oil futures initially added to gains seen after the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported a 5.9 million barrel drop in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended Dec. 16.
Oil futures ended lower Thursday, snapping a three-day winning streak as traders tracked a big winter storm barreling across the U.S. and monitored developments around China’s relaxation of its stringent anti-COVID policies.Price action Market drivers Forecasters predicted heavy snow, ice, flooding and even tornadoes Thursday through Saturday across a large swath of the country from the Plains and the Midwest to the East Coast, to be followed by a surge of cold air.
Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Commodity Insights had expected crude inventories to show a rise of 600,000 barrels, while gasoline stocks were seen rising 1.6 million barrels and distillate supplies falling 400,000 barrels. Crude rallied nearly 3% after the data Wednesday, and gains may have been even more pronounced if not for fears that the storm would limit travel, said Charalampos Pissouros, senior investment analyst at XM, in a note.“Oil prices appear to follow the big boards today and [are] getting weighed down by a stronger U.S.
Oil-field services company Baker Hughes Inc. on Thursday said the number of U.S. oil rigs rose by two this week to 622. The tally was up 142 from the same time last year. The EIA said natural gas in storage fell by 87 billion cubic feet in the week ended Dec. 16. The agency had been expected to report a withdrawal of 94 billion cubic feet, according to a survey of analysts by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
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