U.S. oil inventories fell across the board last week on higher crude exports and gasoline demand, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories fell by 3.7 million barrels to 436.5 million barrels in the week ended July 19, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel draw. Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 388,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 2.7 million bpd, as exports rose 222,000 bpd to 4.2 million bpd. Stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for ...

Russia is producing close to its crude production cut target under the OPEC+ agreement, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said July 23, as Russia struggles to comply with a deeper cut from the second quarter. “We have almost reached it, are close to it, we have not fully implemented it,” Novak, who is Russia’s lead OPEC+ negotiator, told reporters, according to the Tass news agency. Russia failed to meet its target in the second quarter, when it pledged to implement deeper cuts under the agreement, according to the Platts OPEC+ ...

Hungary and Slovakia are threatening to take Ukraine to court over the country’s decision to restrict the oil supplies of the Lukoil company. The European Commission is prepared to mediate in the spiralling dispute between Hungary and Slovakia, on one side, and Ukraine, on the other, over the latter’s decision to strengthen sanctions against Lukoil, a Moscow-based corporation, and consequently restrict the transit of Russian crude oil through its territory. Kyiv argues the penalties are necessary to curtail the Kremlin’s revenues that sustain the military invasion, now well into its ...

Asia’s first-half September naphtha price plunged by $10 on Wednesday reflecting the weakness in crude oil benchmarks, although the downside was limited due to a decline in Middle Eastern inventories. The refining profit margin for naphtha was little changed at $69.70 per metric ton over Brent crude in a steady backwardation of $4.50 a ton. At the deals window, there were several bids for second-half September naphtha and first-half October cargo against three offers. Energy trader BP snapped up 25,000 tons of naphtha for second-half September delivery. O/AS In the ...

U.S. natural gas futures slid about 2% on Wednesday on forecasts for less demand next week than previously expected, rising output and an ongoing oversupply of gas in storage. Analysts said there was still about 17% more gas in storage than normal for this time of year even though injections have been smaller than usual for nine of the past 10 weeks after several producers cut output earlier in the year when futures prices dropped to 3-1/2 year lows in February and March. Higher prices in April and May, however, ...

Dutch and British wholesale gas prices were steady on Wednesday as balanced supply and demand left the market rangebound. The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub TRNLTTFMc1 was up 0.50 euros at 31.9 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), or $10.12/mmBtu, by 0824 GMT, LSEG data showed. The Dutch day-ahead contract was up 0.30 euros at 31.60 euros/MWh. In the British market, the front-month contract was up 1.11 pence at 73.23 pence per therm. “The market continues to hold station around this level, as it has done for many ...

U.S. oil refiners are expected to report sharply lower second quarter earnings from a year ago after a listless summer driving season that weakened refining margins, energy analysts said. Refiners ramped up processing capacity in the three months ended June 30 to 93.5%, compared with 91% in the prior-year period, to meet an expected spike in gasoline and diesel fuel demand that ultimately fell short, according to the Energy Information Administration. Rising diesel inventories over the quarter, fueled by new refineries in the Middle East and higher exports from China, ...

The OPEC Secretariat said on Wednesday it had received a plan from Iraq to make up for overproduction in the first half of the year and said it would offset it by Sept. 2025. Iraq’s overproduced volumes between January and June totaled about 1.184 million barrels per day, the de facto Saudi-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a statement. OPEC also received plans to offset overproduction from Russia and Kazakhstan. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Yousef Saba, Editing by Peter Graff)

Asia’s middle distillates markets were little changed on Wednesday as August cargoes were still readily offered from refiners, especially for jet fuel. Meanwhile, open trading window went back to being barren of deals, reflecting the ongoing buy-sell gap for mostly August cargoes. Aggressive sellers were less active, exacerbating the lull in activity. Some support in the later afternoon came from news of Russia considering a ban on diesel exports again, which could limit spot availability in the market. Refining margins climbed for a second straight session, supported by gains in ...

Bolivia, which has struggled with fuel shortages for years, now faces a weeklong scarcity of diesel as adverse weather restricts imports, a senior government official said. State oil company YPFB has seen diesel supplies curtailed by 22% as rough seas have closed the Chilean port of Arica and unseasonably low river levels have curbed imports from neighboring Paraguay, CEO Armin Dorgathen said in a press conference late July 22. The oil tanker Byzantium and two diesel tankers are unable to unload at Arica, according to Dorgathen. Bolivia is holding talks ...

Oil prices traded around their lowest level in six weeks on Wednesday, as the northern hemisphere gets deeper into summer with limited signs of the expected fuel consumption surge the period usually sees. Wednesday saw only a slight reprieve, as prices snapped three straight sessions of decline on falling U.S. crude inventories and growing supply risks from wildfires in Canada boosted prices. Brent crude futures for September rose 66 cents, or 0.8%, to $81.67 a barrel by 0908 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for September increased 65 cents, or ...

U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. The API figures showed crude stocks were downby 3.9million barrels in the week ended July 19, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Gasoline inventories fellby 2.8 million barrels, and distillates fellby 1.5 million barrels. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nicole Jao in New York, Editing by Chris Reese)

Consumption of natural gas in Europe consistently decreased since mid-2022, driven by a combination of mild winter weather and government policies aimed at reducing natural gas consumption. In 2023, natural gas consumption in the European Union’s 27 member countries (EU-27) declined 18% from the previous five-year (2017–21) average according to Eurostat data. During the first five months of 2024 (January–May), consumption remained 19% below the 2017–21 average for the same months. In 2022, after a significant decline of pipeline imports from Russia, European governments enacted coordinated demand-reduction measures. Those measures ...

Oil prices fell about 2% to a six-week low on Tuesday on rising expectations of a ceasefire in Gaza and growing demand concerns in China. Brent futures fell $1.38, or 1.7%, to $81.02 a barrel by 12:13 p.m. EST (1613 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.49, or 1.9%, to $76.91. That put both crude benchmarks on track for their lowest closes since June 7 and pushed both into technically oversold territory for the first time since early June. It was also the first time WTI futures ...

US crude and refined product inventories likely fell the week ended July 19 for the third consecutive week, analysts surveyed by S&P Global Commodity Insights said July 22, as summer travel season has kicked off for petroleum demand. Nationwide crude inventories are expected to fall 2.77 million barrels to 437.5 million barrels, analysts said, putting stocks 4.7% behind the five-year average of US Energy Information Administration data for this time of year. Given that inventories continue the downward trend, US crude stocks could hit the lowest level seen since early ...