Crude prices record highs in mid-trading today, Wednesday, April 20, less than an hour before the opening of the US markets, amid anticipation in the markets for the official inventory statement from the US Energy Information Administration, as Brent crude is trading at an increase of about 0.82% at levels of $ 108.13 a barrel, while rising American crude (NYMEX) by about 1.06%, trading at levels of 103.65 dollars per barrel.
Today, crude is receiving support from expectations of a decline in US crude stocks last week, in addition to the decline in oil supplies from Russia and Libya, especially after the report of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the independent producing allies outside the organization led by Russia, known as OPEC+, that it produced 1.45 million barrels below the target level for production in March, with expectations that it will reach The shortage in April is 1.5 million barrels per day from Russia only.
On the other hand, the Libyan National Corporation announced this morning, Wednesday, that it had suspended an estimated 550,000 barrels per day of production due to the closures of major oil fields, which constituted additional support for crude prices.
The report of the American Petroleum Institute issued on Tuesday in the preliminary reading of stocks showed a decline in stocks by 4.5 million barrels in the last week ending on the 15th of April. About 1.7 million barrels.