FX.co ★ Crude oil drops as reserves increased in the US

The price of crude oil of both leading benchmark grades declined on Wednesday morning amid the rapid increase in the level of black gold reserves in the US last week, which ended October 23. All this, however, was quite justified, since in recent weeks there have been more than once news about the increase in the number of operating installations for the extraction of raw materials in the country.

According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), raw materials reserves in the US rose by 4.6 million barrels at once. The level of gasoline reserves also increased significantly by 2.3 million barrels. The level of distillates, in contrast, fell by 5.3 million barrels. At the same time, it is worth noting that on the territory of the strategically important storage facility in Cushing, oil reserves have increased by 136,000 barrels.

Meanwhile, the data collected from experts interviewed by S&P Global Platts also estimated an increase in the level of oil reserves by more than 200,000 barrels. Gasoline, on the contrary, will decrease by 700,000 barrels, and distillates will go down by 2.5 million barrels. Thus, according to these preliminary indicators, there is no reason for strong concern among investors yet.

On Tuesday, black gold was marked by an increase in value amid news of another worsening weather conditions in the Gulf of Mexico due to the hurricane Zeta. As of Wednesday morning, 49.5% of the oil production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico have already ceased their active operations. Power was also temporarily shut down. All this, of course, can provide short-term support with raw materials, since production will be limited for the duration of the hurricane. However, the market situation will not change dramatically.

Thus, it is expected that in the coming days the price of raw materials may move up under the influence of concerns about limited supplies of petroleum products. Nevertheless, global factors for price reduction have not lost their power and continue to have a negative impact on the market. This means that as soon as the elements recede and the weather normalizes, the market is likely to fall again.

The price of futures contracts for Brent crude oil for delivery in December on the trading floor in London fell 1.72% or $0.71 which sent it to $40.49 per barrel. Tuesday's trading ended with a slight rise of 1.8% or $0.74, but it was not possible to keep the advantage so far.

The price of futures contracts for WTI light crude oil for delivery in December on the electronic trading platform in New York also marked a significant drop of 2.2% or $0.87. This sent it to the current price level of $38.70 per barrel. Tuesday's trading marked a growth of 2.6% or $1.01 per barrel.