Oil soared: WTI at its highest in a year while Brent headed to US$100

The barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil, the US reference variety, ended this Wednesday at a maximum in one yeardriven by a drop in reserves in the United States, which also pushed Brent towards US$100.

The WTI jumped 3.6% to end at US$93.68a peak since the end of August 2022. While the barrel of North Sea Brent for equal delivery gained 2.7% to $96.55.

Already positive at the opening, Oil accelerated after the release of the weekly US reserves report by the Energy Information Agency (EIA).

In the week ending September 22, Commercial crude oil reserves fell by 2.2 million barrels (mb)according to the EIA, much more than the 900,000 barrels expected by analysts.

This reduction in stocks occurs despite the fact that the activity in the refineries, and therefore the volume of distillate production, fell. The utilization rate of these facilities stood at 89.5%, a six-month low.

Crude oil imports grew 11% in a weekanother factor that tends to increase stocks.

To the surprise of the market, “all figures should show an increase” in stocks, and not a decreasesaid Robert Yawger, from Mizuho, ​​for whom this Wednesday’s data is “an enigma” to which is also added a drop in exports.

“I’m skeptical about these numbers”, Kpler’s Matt Smith was inclined to say. “I don’t believe this report,” he emphasized.

But “speculative traders make a lot of fun of all this,” Yawger added in his explanation. “They are only interested in the main figure (the fall in commercial reserves) and will reinforce their purchase positions,” putting upward pressure on prices.

The market also noted that the level of reserves in Cushing (Oklahoma), the main WTI dispatch terminal in the United States, fell to a minimum in 15 months.

That Brent will pass the symbolic mark of $100 per barrel for Brent “seems inevitable,” said Matt Smith.