Aug 25, 2022 03:00AM ET
By: AnalysisWatch
Oil prices rose on Thursday on growing concerns about supply constraints amid the Russian export disruption, the possibility of major producers cutting output and the partial shutdown of a US refinery.
Brent crude was up 45 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $101.67 a barrel as of 6:30 a.m. GMT, while West Texas Intermediate crude was up 32 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $95.21 a barrel.
Both benchmark crude contracts hit three-week highs on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia's energy minister noted the possibility that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, could cut production to support prices.
Talks between the European Union, the United States and Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement continue, with Iran saying it has received a response from the United States to the EU's "final" text on reviving the agreement.
ANZ analysts Daniel Hines and Sonny Kumari said that if a deal is reached, it is likely to negatively impact sentiment and depress prices in the short term as the deal raises the prospect of 1 million barrels of Iranian oil per day hitting the market.
In the United States, the world's biggest oil consumer, BP said Wednesday that some installations at its Whiting refinery in Indiana were shut down after an electrical fire.
The 430,000-barrel-a-day refinery is a key supplier of fuel to the central United States and the city of Chicago.
Declining US crude and product inventories have also contributed to upward pressure on prices. In the week to August 19, oil inventories fell by 3.3 million barrels to 421.7 million barrels, stronger than analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 933,000-barrel decline.
The positive impact was countered by a drawdown in gasoline inventories, which was less than expected and reflected weak demand.
U.S. gasoline inventories fell by 27,000 barrels during the week to 215.6 million barrels, compared with preliminary expectations for a decline of 1.5 million barrels.
Comments