Crude prices recorded increases of more than 1.5% in the middle of the trading session today, Wednesday, March 24th, with the opening of the US markets, benefiting from Saudi statements at the beginning of the session, amid anticipation of the official stock numbers later in the day, as Brent crude is trading at levels of $ 78.11 a barrel, an increase of 1.65%, while US crude (NYMEX) is up by 1.80%, and is trading at $74.22 per barrel.
The Saudi Energy Minister warned speculators in the oil markets, who are betting on a drop in prices, which raised the market’s expectations that OPEC and independent allies outside the organization, known as the OPEC + system, may amend their production policy at their meeting in early June.
On the other hand, the markets are awaiting during today’s American session the official figures from the US Energy Information Administration, as it is estimated that inventories increased by about 525 million thousand last week.
The report of the American Petroleum Institute had shown in the preliminary reading of inventories, issued on Tuesday, that US stocks had declined in the past week ending on May 19th, by 6.8 million barrels. In details, gasoline stocks declined by about 6.4 million barrels, and distillate stocks, which include heating fuel and diesel, decreased by about 1.771 million barrels.