Oil prices continued to rise on Thursday, following a strong jump the day before due to an unexpected drop in the utilization of American refinery capacities and crude oil and gasoline inventories in the world’s largest economy. In the New York market, oil increased by 36 cents to 74 dollars per barrel. In the London market, it strengthened by 28 cents to 72.41 dollars.
The U.S. Department of Energy reported on Wednesday that for the week ending August 24, refinery capacity utilization fell by 1.3 percentage points to 90.3 percent. Analysts had expected no changes compared to the previous week. The decline in refinery activity contributed to a drop in gasoline inventories by 3.6 million barrels, while analysts had expected a decrease of 1.8 million barrels.
The reduction in crude oil and gasoline inventories in the U.S. indicates that American refineries are scaling back on increased gasoline production to meet peak demand during the summer. This weekend marks the end of the traditionally heightened demand for fuels in the U.S. Therefore, they assess that there is enough room for continued oil price growth in the short term. “A price of 75 dollars per barrel is within reach, and this level should be a key test of the resilience of the global economy,” says Oliver Jakob from Swiss Petromatrix.
Natural gas inventories in the U.S. are already at record levels and prices are lower than they were a year ago, which could be good news this winter for those relying on natural gas for heating, analysts say. (Hina)
