Oil retreats from multi-year highs after U.S. stock build
Oil prices dropped nearly 2% on Wednesday after hitting a multi-year highs, as an unexpected rise in U.S. crude inventories prompted buyers to take a breather after recent torrid gains.
The latest surge in the crude prices had been underpinned by the refusal of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies to boost output and concern about tight energy supplies globally.
On Monday, OPEC, Russia and other allies, known as OPEC+, chose to stay with a plan to increase output gradually and not boost it further as the United States and other consumer nations have been urging.
Brent crude hit $83.47 a barrel, its highest since October 2018, but settled 1.79% lower at $81.08 per barrel.
U.S. crude climbed to $79.78, its highest since November 2014, before settling 1.9% lower at $77.43 per barrel.
U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.3 million barrels last week, against expectations for a modest dip of 418,000 barrels, the U.S. Energy Department said.
Notably, U.S. production increased to 11.3 million barrels per day, recovering from storm-related shut-ins more than a month ago to rebound near pandemic-level highs but still far from the 13-million bpd record set in 2019.
With shale companies constraining drilling to concentrate on investor returns, U.S. output has not been able to offset OPEC’s efforts to restrict exports.
Reference: CNBC
Thai
Eng