Brent raw had won for four sessions just before Thursday, while West Texas Intermediate had gone up for three, both reaching the highest levels since January 2020.
Oil prices fell Thursday despite a sharp fall in U.S. crude investments, as market participants took profits after days of cold-snapping buys in the largest-performing state. energy in the US.
Brent crude fell 41 cents, or 0.6 percent, to settle at $ 63.93 a barrel. During the session it rose as high as $ 65.52, the highest level since January 2020.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 62 cents, or 1 percent, to settle at $ 60.52 a barrel, after reaching earlier than $ 62.26, the highest level since January 2020.
Brent had won for four sessions just before Thursday, while WTI had gone up for three.
“The market may have gotten a little ahead of itself,” said Phil Flynn, a senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. “But make no mistake, this sale in oil will not solve the problems. The problems are going to continue. ”
While power was restored to some Texas homes Thursday, the state entered the sixth day of freezing cold. It has been involved in refining and oil and gas closures that spanned its border into Mexico.
The weather has reduced the country’s ability to redecorate by one-fifth and shutdown oil and natural gas across the state.
“The temporary spending will help accelerate U.S. oil investments toward the five-year average faster than expected,” said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief SEB commodity analyst.
Prices fell despite a decline in U.S. oil deposits. Crude stockpiles fell 7.3 million barrels per week to Feb. 12, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Thursday, compared to analysts ’expectations for a decline of 2.4 million barrels.
Crude exports rose to 3.9 million barrels per day, the highest level since March, the EIA said.
“The big bump was the huge jump in crude oil exports,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital in New York. “We need to see what happens next week [related to] weather in Texas, but I’ve been looking for a pickup there for a while. ”
Oil accumulation in recent months has also been aided by global supply tightening, largely as a result of production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and related producers in OPEC + group, which includes Russia.
OPEC + sources told Reuters news agency that the group’s representatives are likely to make loops on supply after April as prices have recovered.