NY. Oil prices fell on Wednesday as concerns about the conflict in the Middle East eased and business activity in the United States slowed, although a drop in U.S. crude inventories limited losses.
The European benchmark Brent contract fell 40 cents to $88.02 a barrel; that of the American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost 55 cents to 82.81 dollars. The Mexican export mix subtracted 36 cents to 77.15 dollars a barrel.
The day, however, began positively because operators “are increasingly reducing the geopolitical risk premium,” which rose after the reciprocal attacks between Iran and Israel, explained Robert Yawger, an analyst at Mizuho.
The market then reacted to the report from the United States Energy Information Agency (EIA), which reported an unexpected drop in US oil reserves, after four consecutive weekly increases.
U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 6.4 million barrels to 453.6 million barrels in the week to April 19, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, missing analyst expectations in a Reuters poll. of an increase of 825 thousand barrels.
The big drop in stocks was the result of very high crude oil exports, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. But it could be a one-off, he said, as preliminary tanker tracking data this week shows lower exports.
Meanwhile, U.S. business activity cooled to four-month lows in April and S&P Global reported Tuesday that its flash composite manufacturing PMI index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, fell to 50.9 this month from 52.1. of March.
Markets expect the U.S. central bank to begin lowering interest rates this year, which could boost economic growth and, in turn, stimulate oil demand.
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– 2024-04-30 05:45:33
