Crude oil prices experienced a significant downturn during trading on Wednesday, further extending the slight losses observed in the two previous sessions. May's Crude slumped by $2.67 or 3.1 percent to $82.69 a barrel, marking the most substantial daily decrease in terms of both dollar and percentage since the early days of January.
The slump in crude oil prices primarily mirrors the optimism that Israel would demonstrate restraint in its reaction to Iran's recent missile strike, thus bypassing Iran's oil infrastructure. The Energy Information Administration's report signifying an ongoing increase in U.S. crude oil stocks also contributed to the price drop.
The report indicated that crude oil stocks surged by 2.7 million barrels last week, following a spike of 5.8 million barrels the previous week. Economists had projected an increase of 1.6 million barrels in crude oil stocks. With 460.0 million barrels, U.S. crude oil stocks currently stand at roughly 1 percent less than the five-year average for this period, according to the EIA.
The EIA further reported that gasoline stocks fell by 1.2 million barrels last week, standing around 4 percent less than the five-year average for this season. Distillate fuel stocks, which encompasses heating oil and diesel, also witnessed a decrease of 2.8 million barrels last week and were about 7 percent less than the five-year average for this season.
