U.S. Crude Oil Inventories Fell by 2.68M Barrels Last Week: EIA

Investing.com – oil inventories decreased more than expected last week, the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Wednesday.

The EIA data showed that fell by 2.68 million barrels in the week to Jan. 11.

That was compared to forecasts for a stockpile draw of 1.32 million barrels, after a decline of 1.68 million barrels in the previous week.

The EIA report also showed that rose by 7.50 million barrels, compared to expectations for a build of 2.77 million barrels, while increased by 2.97 million barrels, compared to forecasts for a gain of 1.57 million.

fell 0.12% to $52.05 a barrel by 10:34 AM ET (14:34 GMT), compared to $52.15 prior to the publication.
London-traded inched up 0.03% to $60.66 a barrel, compared to $60.81 ahead of the release.

Although crude prices moved lower in a knee-jerk reaction to the data, they had shown mixed trade around the unchanged mark throughout Wednesday morning as investors continued to weigh fears of a global economic slowdown against OPEC’s efforts to reduce production and a recent decline in active U.S. oil rigs.

“Fundamentals offer no clear price direction,” said Norbert Ruecker, head of commodity research at Swiss bank Julius Baer.

“The oil market remains amply supplied and prices are set to trade range-bound,” he said. “Softening demand makes too-high prices short-lived … Similarly, (supply) cuts and slowing shale output make too-low prices short-lived.”

— Reuters contributed to this report.

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