Singapore –
0238 GMT: Crude oil futures were down during mid-morning trading in Asia January 14 as any pressure due to pull in US crude investments was higher than signs of weak bases in markets downstream oil and a stronger U.S. dollar.
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At 10:38 am Singapore time (0238 GMT), Brent March’s ICE contract was down 11 cents / b (0.20%) from the Jan settlement. 13 at $ 55.95 / b, while the February NYMEX light sweet crude contract was down 10 cents / b (0.19%) at $ 52.81 / b. The indicators had fallen 0.92% and 0.56% respectively on January 13th.
U.S. commercial crude investments fell 3.25 million barrels to 482.21 million barrels per week to end Jan. 8, Energy Information Administration published Jan. 13. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts had expected to pull just over 3.8 million barrels.
But the crude pull did not change to higher prices as market participants remained concerned about weakness in downstream oil production markets.
U.S. gasoline deposits rose 4.4 million barrels to 245.48 million barrels per week to Jan. 8, while distillate deposits rose 4.79 million barrels to 163.21 million barrels, EIA data showed.
Gasoline demand rose 90,000 b / d a week to 7.53 million b / d, according to the EIA, linking to Apple’s movement data that showed a 0.2% increase in U.S. driving activity, but it remained 12% lower than the five-year average. , measured by nationwide distribution restrictions.
ANZ analysts said in a Jan. 14 note that EIA data suggested that demand for fuel in the U.S. remained weak, while signals from other key regions such as Europe also indicated weak demand.
“Demand in Europe has slowed and road traffic in the UK is down 42%, while global air traffic shows little sign of a significant reversal in flight numbers,” he said. ANZ analysts.
At 10:38 am, the NYMEX February contract of RBOB traded 0.32 cents / gal (0.21%) lower than the Jan resolution. 13 at $ 1.5456 / gal, while the February ULSD NYMEX contract was down 0.31 cents / gal (0.19%) at $ 1.5958 / gal.
At the same time, the U.S. dollar strengthened, adding to downward pressure on oil prices.
“The U.S. dollar in particular had begun to climb again in Wednesday’s session despite U.S. Treasury yields easing slightly behind strong demand identified for Treasury bonds long ago and Fed ‘s views, “said Pan Jingyi, a senior market expert at IG, in January. . 14 nota.
Despite the decline in crude prices, analysts remained bullish, as US President Joe Biden was expected to announce a new coronavirus stimulation plan later on Jan. 14 and was also expected to Johnson & Johnson vaccine test results.
“There is brewing optimism for the J&J COVID-19 vaccine and that could keep crude WTI support around the low $ 50s. If the dollar ‘s reversal does not accelerate, it will be difficult to argue for lower oil prices. , “Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a Jan. 14 note.