Energy
Wednesday, February 14th, 2024 4:38 pm EDT
Key Points
- Crude oil futures fell on Wednesday due to a surge in U.S. stockpiles and a decline in demand.
- Commercial crude oil inventories in the U.S. increased by 12 million barrels last week, while oil demand dropped by 973,000 barrels per day during the same period.
- Despite earlier gains triggered by tensions in the Middle East, concerns over market oversupply and diminishing demand have led to fluctuations in crude oil futures.
Crude oil futures experienced a decline on Wednesday, relinquishing earlier gains due to a significant increase in stockpiles in the U.S. coupled with a decline in demand. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract for March dropped by 11 cents to $77.76 a barrel, while the Brent contract for April traded at $82.74 a barrel, down 3 cents. This shift followed a surge of 12 million barrels in commercial crude oil inventories in the U.S. during the previous week, accompanied by a decrease of 973,000 barrels per day in oil demand as indicated by finished products supplied to the market. Earlier in the trading session, oil prices had risen by 1% in response to Israel’s airstrikes in Lebanon following rocket attacks into northern Israel, resulting in casualties. CIA Director William Burns is currently in Cairo, facilitating negotiations involving Israel, Hamas, Qatar, and Egypt aimed at securing a truce and the release of hostages by Hamas. The fluctuation in crude oil futures reflects a pattern of gains amid Middle East tensions followed by declines due to concerns over market oversupply and diminishing demand. Despite the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with no ceasefire imminent, WTI and Brent have seen respective gains of 5.42% and 4.58% in the past week, contributing to year-to-date increases of 8.53% and 7.4% for U.S. crude and the global benchmark.
For the full original article on CNBC, please click here: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/14/crude-oil-prices-today.html
