Title: Oil prices fall as market weighs mixed supply signals

Apr 14, 2022 02:50AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

Oil prices slipped on thin trading volume Thursday ahead of a holiday as traders weighed an unexpectedly large increase in U.S. oil inventories against tightening global supplies.

At 02:32 AM ET, Brent futures were $1.14, or 1.1%, lower at $107.64 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were $1.32, or 1.3%, lower at $102.93 a barrel.

Both contracts absorbed a sharp rise in U.S. crude inventories on Wednesday and ended about 4% higher.

In a note, OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley wrote: "Asian buyers were absent today, with volume possibly dampened by the long weekend in most parts of Asia, Europe, and North America."

The International Energy Agency warned Wednesday that about 3 million barrels per day of Russian oil could be off the market starting in May due to sanctions or voluntary embargoes.

At the same time, major global trading houses plan to curb purchases of crude and fuel from Russia's state-controlled oil companies in May, Reuters reported Wednesday.

The likelihood of the EU deciding to ban Russian oil is likely to be close to zero, but no one will be able or willing to say that clearly, said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.

Despite signals that the global supply disruption will continue, U.S. oil inventories rose by more than 9 million barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, due in part to drawdowns from the country's strategic reserves. According to a Reuters poll, analysts had expected an increase of only 863,000 barrels.

Gasoline inventories in the U.S. fell by 3.6 million barrels last week, well above expectations, and distillate stocks also fell.