DTN Oil Update
Oil Futures Little Changed Ahead of Christmas Holiday
SECAUCUS, N.J. (DTN) -- Oil futures dipped on Wednesday, Dec. 24, after a five-day rally ahead the Christmas holiday, amid geopolitical concerns and higher-than-expected U.S. GDP growth in the third quarter.
NYMEX WTI futures contract for February delivery settled down $0.03, or 0.05%, at $58.35 bbl.
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The front-month ICE Brent futures contract fell $0.14, or 0.2%, to settle at $ $62.24 bbl.
January ULSD futures tumbled $0.033, or 1.5%, to close at $2.1576 gallon.
RBOB futures contract for January delivery rose $0.0039 to $1.7471 gallon.
Wednesday's market slide was limited by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's report on Tuesday, Dec. 23, that the U.S. economy grew its most in two years during the third quarter, with an annualized expansion of 4.3% versus Wall Street's forecast of 3.3%.
The prior five-day rally was driven by reports of U.S. seizures of Venezuelan oil cargoes and reciprocal strikes between Ukraine and Russian forces, lifting WTI and Brent from 2021 lows below $55 bbl and $60 bbl, respectively.
Weekly data from the American Petroleum Institute released on Tuesday showed builds in crude, gasoline and distillates, which had limited effect on the oil futures market. U.S. commercial crude oil stocks rose by 2.4 million bbl during the week ended December 19, after a 9.3 million bbl draw the prior week, the API said.
Official weekly inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, typically due on Wednesdays, will be published on Dec. 29 instead.
