Oil Price Pressured Again by Supply Worries

Oil price falls for the third consecutive day as the supply side consolidates downward pressure against market sentiment.

In the latest report released by the US Energy Information Administration, a surprise build near 600,000 barrels came for the week ending April 16.

The actual result fell short of meeting the expected 2.97 million barrel draw given by analysts earlier. This is also far-off from the previous week’s draw amounting to 5.89 million barrels.

With the ongoing worry, Brent crude futures shed off 0.44% and are last down to $65.03 per barrel.

The WTI futures followed suit and decreased by 0.47% to $61.06, still above the critical psychological threshold of $60.00 per barrel.

A day earlier, API inspection coincided with today’s findings after coming at 436,000 barrel build-up for the same period.

Analysts worry about the growing number of daily infections among the world’s leading crude oil importers.

In the latest report, India, which plays an important role in the crude oil trading environment due to its billion-number of consumers, updates an alarming number of Covid cases.

The South Asian nation is battling the second wave of infections and has recorded six-digit daily additions during the past weeks.

It remains on the second spot among countries with the highest number of Covid 19 cases. The United States still holds the highest number.

On the other hand, the latter is swift with the vaccination process. More than half of the US adults have now received inoculation.

The situation with India and other crude importers that are embattled with the pandemic is dire. If it persists any longer, it will create a huge dent in crude oil demand.

OPEC to Meet Next Week

Meanwhile, spectators are looking for some hint ahead of OPEC’s scheduled meet happening next week.

Earlier, crude cheered on the news updating Libya’s halting of production in some of its major oil fields.

This came as the National Oil Corporation declared a force majeure on its exports as infections rise.

Meanwhile, another member state, Iran, is reportedly considering adding about 2 million barrels per day into the circulation.

This is due to the potential lifting of US sanctions against the country that would reallow it to export more crude oil into the market.

The United States and the Iranian government are reportedly engaged in an indirect talk for a nuclear deal by next month.

None is yet confirmed by either party, but the assumption has already consolidated a bearish sentiment among spectators.