DTN Oil Update
Oil Up on New Mideast Strikes, US Stockpiles Data Beckon
SECAUCUS, N.J. (DTN) -- Oil prices rose Wednesday morning from the previous session's sharp losses as new U.S.-Iran counterstrikes reinforced the vulnerability of Middle East ceasefires and the heightened volatility across energy markets.
Expectations that the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will report another major drawdown in crude and product stockpiles for last week in data due at 10:30 a.m. ET kept upward pressure on futures pricing.
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Separately, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday, June 9, that U.S. commercial crude oil stocks fell by 9.119 million bbl during the week ended June 5, above the 6.75 million bbl decline reported the previous week and exceeding expectations for a 3.4 million bbl draw.
Gasoline inventories fell by 1.191 million bbl in the reported week, reversing the 3.45 million bbl build recorded in the previous week, while distillate fuel oil stocks rose by 1.3 million, contrary to the 214,000 bbl drop seen in the prior week, the API said.
By 9 a.m. ET, NYMEX WTI crude for July delivery rose $1.29 to reach $88.49 bbl, after a session high at $90.42. ICE Brent for August climbed $1.14 to $92.58 bbl after peaking at $93.47.
Downstream, on NYMEX, July ULSD advanced by $0.0423 to $3.5841, while July RBOB added $0.0320 to $3.0531 gallon.
On the forex market, the U.S. Dollar Index remained beneath the key 100-point level, with a -0.034-point slide to 99.855 against a basket of foreign currencies.
In the prior session, both WTI and Brent fell as much as 3%, erasing the 1% advance at the start of the week sparked by a missiles exchange between Israel and Iran. Both sides later agreed to halt hostilities after a plea by U.S. President Donald Trump that diplomatic efforts be allowed to work to end the war, now into its fourth month.
But Trump himself approved fresh U.S. strikes against Iran late on Tuesday after Tehran shot down a U.S. military helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway, critical for global energy shipments, has been blockaded on both ends by separate U.S.-Iran actions, depriving consuming nations of some 20 million bpd of petroleum liquids.
"Iran has taken too long to negotiate" an end to the war and "will have to pay the price," the president declared on his Truth Social media platform on Wednesday.