DTN Oil Update
Oil Price at 3-Week High as U.S. Crude Stocks Tumble
SECAUCUS, N.J. (DTN) -- Oil prices hit three-week highs Wednesday, rallying for a second straight session, after Energy Information Administration data showed a sharp drop in weekly inventories, driven by blistering crude exports during the week of Sept. 19.
Pressure for more European Union sanctions against Russian oil and a delayed return of 230,000 bpd of Kurdistan crude to the global market added to the market's fervor.
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The front-month NYMEX WTI settled up $1.58, or 2.5%, at $64.99 bbl after reaching a three-week peak of $65.05 bbl.
The ICE Brent futures contract for November delivery gained $1.68, or 2.5%, to close at $69.31 bbl.
Among oil products, October RBOB gasoline futures advanced $0.0197 to $2.0188 gallon, and the front-month ULSD contract rose $0.0197 to $2.3722 gallon.
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories fell by 600,000 bbl to 414.8 million bbl last week, according to Energy Information Administration data on Wednesday, Sept. 23, that showed exports continuing at a blistering pace.
That was much lower than the 3.82 million bbl stockpile indicated on Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute for last week. The market, however, took the number in its stride, focusing on the export data released by the EIA.
Exports were at 4.484 million bpd for the reference week, down from the prior week's 5.277 million bpd, when they hit a 21-month high. But they were some 300,000 bpd higher than the average pace of the past four weeks.
Also, exports for the week ended Sept. 19 were more than 200,000 bpd above year-ago levels, marking a 5.4% year-on-year increase.
Crude stockpiles rose 0.4% year-on-year for the week ended Sept. 19, a 4% decline compared to the five-year seasonal average.