Oil steadied ahead of an OPEC+ review of the global crude market and a weekly update of US stockpiles.
West Texas Intermediate was little changed above $89 a barrel, after the US benchmark swung by more than $2.50 a barrel on Tuesday before ending modestly higher. The alliance’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee convenes online later Wednesday, but delegates don’t expect the body to recommend any change in policy as Saudi Arabia and Russia lead output curbs.
In the US, meanwhile, the government will release figures on crude inventories against a backdrop of fast-declining holdings, including at the storage hub at Cushing. Estimates from the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute released Tuesday showed a modest increase at the Oklahoma site last week, but a draw on a nationwide basis, according to people familiar with the figures.
Flows on TC Energy Corp.’s Keystone oil pipeline in the US dropped to zero on Tuesday, according to a prominent data provider, potentially disrupting deliveries to Cushing this week. TC Energy said it regularly conducts maintenance on Keystone and occasionally operates the system at reduced rates while it does so.
Oil has rallied since mid-June as the OPEC+ supply cuts tightened the market, with inventories sinking and widely watched timespreads indicating greater competition for prompt barrels. The upsurge — which reignited talk that prices could hit $100 a barrel — has run into resistance in recent sessions as investors fret the Federal Reserve may not be done with raising rates, while a surge in the dollar has also made commodities more expensive for most buyers.
To get Bloomberg’s Energy Daily newsletter into your inbox, click here.
Author: Jake Lloyd-Smith
