Oil price edges upward again on Thursday’s regular session amid prospects of bettering economic outlook, especially in the United States.
In the latest data, the world’s most powerful economy reported an uptick in the consumer price index for February. This was buoyed by rising crude and gasoline prices.
The successive good news in the vaccine development also provided support. On Tuesday, BioNTech’s CEO asserted willingness to produce up to 3 billion doses of the vaccine it co-developed with Pfizer Inc by 2022.
Consequently, the partners are currently working on the potential third shot of the original vaccine. This will be targeted to neutralize emerging mutations of the virus.
This is quick to ignite hopes among traders on the back to the normal scheme once vaccination reaches the majority of the population.
In the latest update, the Brent crude futures added 0.80% to $68.44 before the midday break. Still strong above the $60 per barrel threshold.
The European benchmark managed to open the week at $70. But only when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Counties announced to keep supply curbs in place.
Member states are in consensus to extend the currently-adopted production curbs on daily crude supplies. The overall international demand remains volatile.
Meanwhile, the West Texas Intermediate added 0.79% for the day to $64.65 per barrel along with its counterpart.
Analysts are keeping their bullish projections for both benchmarks, with the $100 per barrel target still the glass ceiling for the end of the year.
Despite the recent hike, some experts in the field think that the downward pressure remains strong for the leading contracts.
US Energy Information Administration Gives Answers
This is proving to be true. The US Energy Information Administration reports an unexpected crude build for the past week.
During the week ending March 5, the US agency’s report showed a 13.798 million barrel build. This is significantly higher than the forecasted 816,000 barrel build.
The recent report follows the previous one’s more than 21 billion surplus amid the power interruption that affected many oil refinery bases in Texas.
EIA’s report is also organic with the crude inventory update from the American Petroleum Institute, released earlier.
The API inventory showed a 12.792 million barrel build for the same period.
On the other hand, the update on gasoline stocks provided optimism among traders. For the same period, stocks fell by 11.9 million barrels to 231 million barrels.
According to strategists, the recent fall in the sector indicates a stimulated consumer activity which is also a measure of economic recovery.
