Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

0:00
0:00

Oil jumps to 13-week high on rising U.S. gasoline demand

Oil prices jumped over 2% to a 13-week high on Wednesday as U.S. demand for gasoline keeps rising despite record pump prices, while expectations that China's oil demand will increase faced growing supply concerns in several countries, including Iran.
Iran said it was removing two International Atomic Energy Agency surveillance cameras at a uranium enrichment facility as the board of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog passed a resolution criticizing Iran for failing to fully explain uranium traces at undeclared sites.

The move has raised tensions with the United States and other countries negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program, and will likely keep sanctions in place and Iranian oil out of the global market for longer.

Analysts have said a nuclear deal with Iran could add about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude to world supply.

Brent futures rose $3.01, or 2.5%, to settle at $123.58 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.70, or 2.3%, to end at $122.11.

Those were the highest closes for both Brent and WTI since March 8, which were their highest settlements since 2008.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories rose unexpectedly last week, while crude in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) fell by a record amount as refiners' inputs rose to their highest since January 2020, the Energy Information Administration said.

U.S. gasoline stocks fell by a surprise 800,000 barrels as demand for the fuel rose despite sky-high pump prices. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected gasoline stocks to rise 1.1 million barrels. ,

"The gasoline draw is a highlight of the report with a tight market place across the U.S.," said Tony Headrick, energy market analyst at CHS Hedging, noting demand remained strong even with pump prices above $5 per gallon in many parts of the country.

Auto club AAA said national average retail regular unleaded gasoline prices hit a record $4.955 per gallon on Wednesday.

China's major A-share indexes and Hong Kong's Hang Seng finished trade at two-month closing highs. Oil traders expect fuel demand to recover as lockdowns to fight the pandemic are eased in the world's biggest oil importer.

"With demand recovering as much as 1.0 million bpd in China and rising seasonally in the U.S., even record SPR withdrawals may prove insufficient to ... balance a significantly undersupplied market," analysts at EBW Analytics said in a note.

The International Energy Agency warned that Europe, which has sanctioned Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, could face energy shortages next winter.

On the supply side, traders noted several countries could face problems boosting output.

In Norway, a number of oil workers plan to strike from June 12 over pay, putting some crude output at risk of shutdown.

Efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, to boost output are "not encouraging", United Arab Emirates' Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said, noting the group was currently 2.6 million bpd short of its target.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Unelected PM of the UK holds an emergency meeting because a candidate got voted in… which he says is a threat to democracy…
Farmers break through police barriers in Brussels.
Ukraine Arrests Father-Son Duo In Lockbit Cybercrime Bust
US Offers $15 Million For Info On Leaders Of Cybercrime Group Lockbit
Apple warns against drying iPhones with rice
Alexei Navalny: UK sanctions Russian prison chiefs after activist's death
German economy is in 'troubled waters' - ministry
In a recent High Court hearing, the U.S. argued that Julian Assange endangered lives by releasing classified information.
Tucker Carlson says Boris Johnson wants "a million dollars, in Bitcoin or cash, from Tucker Carlson to talk about Ukraine.
Russia is rebuilding capacity to destabilize European countries, new UK report warns
EU Commission wants anti-drone defenses at Brussels HQ
Von der Leyen’s 2nd-term pitch: More military might, less climate talk
EU Investigates TikTok for Child Safety Concerns
EU Launches Probe Into TikTok Over Child Protection Under Digital Content Law
EU and UK Announce Joint Effort on Migration
Ministers Confirm Proposal to Prohibit Mobile Phone Usage in English Schools
Avdiivka - Symbol Of Ukrainian Resistance Now In Control Of Russian Troops
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony
Tucker Carlson grocery shopping in Russia. This is so interesting.
France and Germany Struggle to Align on European Defense Strategy
‘A lot higher than we expected’: Russian arms production worries Europe’s war planners
Greece Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage and Adoption Rights
Russia "Very Close" To Creating Cancer Vaccines, Says Vladimir Putin
Hungarian Foreign Minister: Europeans will lose Europe, the Union's policy must change drastically
Microsoft says it caught hackers from China, Russia and Iran using its AI tools
US Rejects Putin's Ceasefire Offer in Ukraine
The Dangers of Wildfire Smoke and Self-Protection Strategies
A Londoner has been arrested for expressing his Christian beliefs.
Chinese Women Favor AI Boyfriends Over Humans
Greece must address role in migrant vessel disaster that killed 600: Amnesty
Google pledges 25 million euros to boost AI skills in Europe
Hungarian President Katalin Novák Steps Down Amid Pardon Controversy
Activist crashes Hillary Clinton's speech, calls her a 'war criminal.'
In El Salvador, the 'Trump of Latin America' stuns the world with a speech slamming woke policing after winning a landslide election
Trudeau reacts to Putin's mention of Canadian Parliament applauding a former Ukrainian Nazi in his interview with Tucker Carlson.
The Spanish police blocked the farmers protest. So the farmers went out and moved the police car out of the way.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy fires top Ukraine army commander
Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin raises EU concerns
Finnish Airline, Finnair, is voluntarily weighing passengers to better estimate flight cargo weight
Russia's Economy Expands by 3.6% Due to Increased Military Spending
Ukraine MPs Vote To Permit Use Of Dead Soldiers' Sperm
German Princess Becomes First Aristocrat To Pose Naked On Playboy Cover
UK’s King Charles III diagnosed with cancer
EU's Ursula von der Leyen Confronts Farmer Protests Amid Land Policy Debates
Distinguishing Between Harmful AI Media and Positive AI-Generated Content: A Crucial Challenge for the EU
Tucker Carlson explains why he interviewed Putin
Dutch farmers are still protesting in the Netherlands against the government, following the World Economic Forum's call for 'owning nothing.'
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stands up for European farmers and says, 'Brussels is suffocating European farmers.
×