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17/07/24
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Crude Prices 1% Higher on Big US Storage Draw, Lower US Dollar
On Wednesday, crude prices were about 1% higher on a larger-than-expected weekly decline in U.S. crude stockpiles and as indications of slower economic growth in China were overshadowed by a weaker U.S. dollar.
Brent futures were 96 cents, or 1.2% higher at $84.69 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was $1.36, or 1.7% higher at $82.12 per barrel.
Brent closed at the lowest level since June 14 on Tuesday and WTI at the lowest level since June 21.
The premium of Brent over WTI declined to about $3.82 a barrel, the lowest since Oct. That declining spread means energy firms don’t have much reason to spend money to load crude for export in the U.S.
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), energy companies pulled 4.9M barrels of crude from storage during the week that ended on July 12.
That compares with the 30K barrel drop analysts expected and a decline of 4.4M barrels in an American Petroleum Institute (API) trade group report.
The 321-crack and diesel spreads in the U.S., which is a measure of refining profit margins, dropped to their lowest levels since Jan. 2024 and Dec. 2021, respectively.
Oil prices were also supported by the weaker U.S. dollar after it dropped to a 17-week low.
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