Oil prices plummeting even On Wednesday, the 26th of April

Who are the winners and losers?

 

Plummeting oil prices are leading to significant revenue shortfalls in many energy exporting nations, while consumers in many importing countries are likely to have to pay less to heat their homes or drive their cars.

 

Wednesday, the 26th of April

Oil prices lower even on Wednesday. U.S. crude inventories again rose and record supplies in the rest of the world. It cast doubt over OPEC’s ability to cut output and constrict the market.


U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading down 4 cents at $49.52 per barrel at 0845 GMT, after gaining 0.7 percent in the previous session. The WTI price has fallen for seven of the past eight sessions.

North Sea Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, eased 3 cents to $52.07 per barrel. Brent is around 8.5 percent below its April peak. (Reuters)

Market players pointed to the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) in report issued late on Tuesday, as weighing on prices. The report showed crude oil stocks rose 897,000 barrels in the week to April 21, defying expectations of a 1.7 million barrel draw. Also, it showed a huge build in gasoline stocks, unusual for this time of the year.

 

EIA

“Widespread worries over stubbornly high OECD oil stocks will be justified in what would be a setback to the global oil rebalancing process. So these figures might should be examined by the EIA.”Said an analyst.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will issue its inventory data at 1430 Greenwich Mean Time Today.

Both Brent and WTI prices pared losses and came close to flat after Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said his country was interested in further talks between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC producers to stabilize oil prices.

OPEC and a group of other producing countries, including Russia but excluding the United States, have pledged to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of the year in order to rein in years of oversupply and prop up prices.

Yet prices have largely slumped this year as U.S. inventories remained brimming and global fuel supplies set new records, despite the pledges to cut output.

OPEC-led supply cut started at the start of the year. The average value of the Brent crude forward curve has fallen by over $5 per barrel since then. The slump in Brent is a result of record crude oil volumes in circulation on ships around the world. Despite the cuts.

Thomson Reuters Eikon shipping data showed 50 million bpd have been booked for shipment on tankers this month, up 10 percent since last December, contributing to rising stocks not just in the United States but in key markets like Japan. (Reuters)

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