The price of a barrel of Brent fell by 3.2%, and WTI - by 3.7%
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has published official data on the volume of oil reserves in the country. Against this background, prices for the main brands of fuel fell, according to the auction data.
As of 13: 50 on August 19, GMT, the cost of a barrel of Brent for delivery in October was $66.02. Compared to the closing level of trading the day before ($68.23), the price fell by 3.24%. At the same time, at the moment, the cost of a barrel reached $65.91.
The price of the WTI brand also fell. At the time of writing, a barrel for September delivery was trading at $62.8. This is 3.7% lower than at the close of the previous day — then a barrel of WTI was worth $65.46.
On the evening of August 18, the EIA reported a decrease in crude oil reserves in the United States to a local minimum. As of August 13, there were 435.5 million barrels of fuel in the country, which is 3.2 million barrels less than last week. There was less stored oil only at the end of January 2020.
The pace of inventory reduction exceeded analysts' expectations — for example, the American Petroleum Institute assumed that the indicator would decrease by 1.06 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks in the United States increased by 700 thousand barrels during the week, and distillates fell by almost 2.7 million barrels. Analysts predicted that gasoline stocks will grow by 2.3 million barrels, and distillates will fall by 700 thousand barrels.
Reuters attributes the decline in oil prices for the fifth day in a row to growing concerns about COVID-19. Several countries have again begun to impose restrictions to combat the spread of the disease, and the number of passengers on flights has decreased.
Prices were also affected by a decrease in fuel demand in China, where the number of COVID-19 cases increased in July.