Commercial oil reserves in the United States suddenly shrank by 3.44 million barrels, leaving just 433.05 million sitting in storage. This was reported by the country’s Department of Energy.
Experts, who were expecting a modest drop of 1.1 million barrels, were left scratching their heads, much like finding an empty fridge when you were hoping for cake.
Gasoline also followed oil’s lead and vanished by 3.66 million barrels, although analysts had predicted it would only slim down by 1.29 million. Meanwhile, distillates suddenly gained 1.53 million barrels when their reserves were supposed to decrease by 900,000.
While all this was happening, the price of September Brent oil futures confidently slid down, nearly hitting $80 per barrel, the lowest mark in a month and a half. At the height of the market’s gloom, oil was trading at $80.06, which is $7 less than three weeks ago. The main culprits of this oil market blues are weak demand from China and the never-ending talks between Israel and Hamas.
Meanwhile, at its June ministerial meeting, OPEC+ extended oil production quotas until the end of the third quarter of 2025. However, to avoid oversupply, the alliance will cap production at 40.46 million barrels per day.
